


Prisoners of War Part 2

by XpaperplaneX



Series: Prisoners of War [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mad Science, Romance, Smut, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-06-28
Updated: 2011-10-18
Packaged: 2017-10-24 17:38:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 81,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XpaperplaneX/pseuds/XpaperplaneX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The continuation of part one of Prisoners of War. Read that first.

Cloud decided that he _hated_ flying. Planes were far worse than any elevator could ever be; elevators, for what it was worth, had a stupid string to hold them up. And they didn't lurch anywhere near as much as the deathtrap he was currently stuck in. If he had been able to cling to Sephiroth, he at least might not have been so afraid, and then he would have just had the motion sickness to deal with. But there were a bunch of other SOLDIERs also going on missions on the Western Continent and the plane was packed full of noisy, energetic men. They all knew about Sephiroth's relationship, so he kept his helmet on and made sure his name badge was covered all the time. He didn't think he could cope with all the attention if they realized who he was. They showed little enough restraint when it came to asking _Sephiroth_ for the details of his private life. He could just imagine what they'd come up with to ask _him_.

Sephiroth just glared and ignored everyone who wanted to know what Cloud was like in bed, no matter how graphic the questions got. He occasionally shot concerned glances over at the corner where Cloud had chosen to curl into a ball, but he seemed to understand that Cloud just wanted to be left alone. Or held. And since he couldn't have the latter, he didn't want anyone paying attention to him.

After more than three hours of trying not to puke, Sephiroth came over and sat next to him. "We're going to begin landing shortly, Corporal," he said.

Cloud barely managed a "Yes, sir" before he had to clamp his hand over his mouth, fighting back the nausea.

Sephiroth shifted, blocking off the view of everyone else in the cabin and stealthily slid his hand behind Cloud's back. He rubbed the small of his back soothingly and Cloud managed a small smile. The plane lurched suddenly and he squeaked in terror, clutching at his armrests. Sephiroth looked like he wanted nothing more than to gather him up in his arms and save him from this hellish trip.

Just then, Zack came barging over, shouting loudly. "I love this part! The way you can see the ground getting closer and closer, the novelty still hasn't worn off." With that, he rudely leaned over top of Sephiroth and pressed his face against the window. Sephiroth was forced to lean over into Cloud's seat and used the opportunity to discreetly wrap his arms around Cloud. Cloud smiled as he clutched at Sephiroth's coat; Zack really was the best sort of friend a guy could ask for. Zack stayed there for the remainder of the flight, occasionally saying how cool something looked in order to remind everyone of why he was there. If anybody wondered why Sephiroth didn't just move, no one bothered asking.

***

When they arrived at the small airport in Costa del Sol, Cloud was a trembling wreck in his arms and Sephiroth felt sick with guilt at having put him through that. He reluctantly let go when Zack could no longer stand over them without arousing too much suspicion. Sephiroth understood why Cloud didn't want the other men knowing who he was, but he truly wished it didn't have to be that way. They wouldn't have cared if he had comforted Cloud throughout the flight. Although they probably would have teased him, surely it wouldn't have been as bad being alone while he was sick and terrified.

"Take a seat, Fair," he said. "We'll wait until everyone else has disembarked before we head out."

"Yes, sir!" Zack flopped down into the bench across from them and put his feet up.

They watched the other men gathering their things with proper military efficiency, all the while laughing and joking with each other, betraying the relaxed SOLDIER atmosphere.

"See you, General. Good luck on your mission," one of the Seconds called.

"Thank you, Sergeant Croft. Same to you."

"And don't go cheating on your sweetie with the other troopers!"

Sephiroth glared as the man shouldered his bag. When the area had finally cleared, he and Zack both turned to look at Cloud.

"Are you doing okay, Spiky?" Zack asked.

"I've been better," was Cloud's grumpy response.

"You can take your helmet off now; everyone's gone." Sephiroth reached for the annoying thing that kept him from seeing Cloud's face and carefully removed it. Cloud was pale and sweaty and his eyes were a bit puffy. Sephiroth just leaned over and planted a kiss between some of his drooping spikes. "Wait here, all right? Zack and I will get our stuff and then we can go find a place to take a break for a while. We don't have to leave right away."

Cloud looked up and started to protest, "I'm supposed to do that sort of stuff. I don't want—"

"Corporal, you're sick. I'd say the same thing to anyone else. You're useless like this, so sit here and feel better. That's an order." Sephiroth stood, motioned for Zack to follow him, and strode into the cargo area before Cloud could protest further.

He and Zack got everything loaded into the truck that was waiting for them on the edge of the tarmac and Sephiroth went to collect Cloud. Cloud's legs appeared to still be a bit shaky as they walked away from the plane. The rain and wind didn't help much, either; Cloud looked absolutely miserable. Costa del Sol during winter really wasn't the nicest place to be.

"The good news is, we're done with flying for the rest of the trip," Sephiroth said in an attempt to cheer Cloud up. "We were supposed to take a chopper the rest of the way—"

"But there's a huge storm in Nibelheim and it's not safe to fly there?" Cloud interrupted.

"Um, yes, how did you know?"

"It's Nibelheim. In winter. Of course there's a big storm. What's the bad news?"

"What?"

"There's always bad news when people say 'the good news is…'. So, what is it?"

"Well, since we can't fly, we have to drive. It'll take a couple days and some of the roads aren't the best."

"So I've got two more days of this? That's just great."

Sephiroth flinched at Cloud's barbed tone and reached out to touch his shoulder, only to have it jerk away. "I'm sorry, Cloud. I really am." He had no idea what else he was supposed to say other than that, it wasn't like there was anything he could do to change it. "Zack found a café where we can take a break for a while, come on."

Sephiroth led Cloud to a small café near the beach. Cloud didn't speak once on the way there. He didn't know if Cloud was mad at _him_ , or the world in general. Or if he was still feeling sick and simply didn't feel like talking. He ushered Cloud into the restaurant and looked around. Zack had commandeered a corner table and Cloud sat down, facing the window, and not looking at either of them. When the waitress came over he ordered a ginger beer in a monotone voice.

"Does that help with the nausea?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, a bit."

When their drinks arrived, Sephiroth watched Cloud taking tiny sips while the colour slowly returned to his face. Cloud stared out at the ocean and an awkward silence noticed only by Sephiroth and Zack fell over the table. Nearly half an hour passed of shifting uncomfortably and sipping silently at their drinks. Sephiroth was almost afraid to speak in case he upset Cloud, and it seemed like Zack was following his lead.

"It's pretty here," Cloud finally remarked rather absently. "Is it nice during the summer?"

"Yeah." Zack visibly perked up at the sudden break in the silence. "It's really nice. We should all come back here for a vacation next summer. Whadd'ya say, Seph?"

"That would be good."

"Of course it would! You could see Cloud in his chocobo swim trunks!"

Cloud shot him a death-glare. "I don't have chocobo swim trunks, Zack."

"You will, don't worry."

Cloud just thumped his head down on the table and laughed humourlessly.

"Are you feeling better now?" Sephiroth asked tentatively.

"Yeah, sorry for being such a bitchy… something. Ugh, sorry for being bitchy, there we go. I can think of words, really."

"It's okay, it's hard to be pleasant when you're sick, I know that well." Sephiroth reached over and squeezed Cloud's knee. "Are you guys okay here for a while longer? There're a couple errands I have to run."

"Sure, Seph, no problem." Zack waved the waitress over and ordered refills for both himself and Cloud.

"All right, I'll be back shortly."

***

Sephiroth looked around the quiet streets that marked a resort town during winter, wondering where he could get what he wanted. He decided to try the grocery store first; that seemed like it would probably carry ginger beer. And then he'd try a pharmacy. He bought a dozen bottles of ginger beer and hoped that would be enough, then headed for the pharmacy. After waiting patiently in line, he approached the woman at the counter.

"Is there anything that can make motion sickness less bad?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course, we've got anti-nauseants that will prevent motion sickness, nausea, and vomiting."

"Really? Such a thing exists? How much is it?"

"210 gil for thirty pills."

"That's it? He can afford that… Why wouldn't he have taken them?" he said mostly to himself.

"Are you buying these for someone else, sir?"

"Um, yes." Sephiroth turned his attention back to the pharmacist. "One of my troopers gets quite bad motion sickness."

"I see, that's probably why he doesn't take them; the pills cause extreme drowsiness. A soldier is supposed to stay awake when he's on duty, right?"

"Oh, you're probably right. Still, he doesn't need to stay awake the entire trip. I'll get some."

"All right." The lady got a small box from one of the shelves behind the counter. "Now, he should take one or two an hour before travelling and then one every four hours, as needed. And he shouldn't take more than eight in twenty-four hours. Is his name Cloud Strife, by any chance?"

Sephiroth's head whipped up from the box where he had been studying the instructions. He took one look at the knowing grin on the pharmacist's face and just sighed. "Yes."

"Does he have any allergies to medication?"

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm required to ask before I can sell them to you. Don't worry, it's completely confidential. I may be a fan, but I'm a professional first."

Sephiroth slowly nodded and pulled out his PHS to look up Cloud's file. He couldn't believe he didn't know if Cloud was allergic to anything. That was an important thing to know. Fortunately, there was nothing in the record and told the pharmacist so. She sold him the pills and Sephiroth headed back to the café, pleased that he had been able to find something that would help.

***

Cloud was feeling a lot better by the time a mass of silver hair entered the café followed by Sephiroth, looking rather annoyed at its misbehaviour. He set two large clanking bags down on a spare chair and another, smaller bag on the table. Cloud peered over at them while Sephiroth attempted to fix his hair.

"Is that ginger beer?"

"Yes, you said it helps," Sephiroth said simply.

Cloud's first thought was to protest that Sephiroth shouldn't have done that, but he caught himself just in time. Sephiroth cared; it was as simple as that. "Thank you," he said instead.

"You're welcome." Sephiroth gave up on his hair and shoved it down the back of his jacket then picked the smaller bag up off the table. He took out a box and handed him two pills from it. "Here, these should help, too."

"What are they?"

"The pharmacist called the anti-nauseants."

"I can't, Sephiroth. They knock me out and then I'm all groggy and…"

"Don't care. I'm not watching you be miserable for at least two days of travel. You can sleep the whole trip." Sephiroth continued holding out the pills.

"He's got a point, Spike. It's not like you're helpful when you're puking your guts out," Zack piped up.

Cloud looked between the two of them; Sephiroth's eyes were practically pleading with him.

"I'll take one, okay?"

Sephiroth just shook his head. "The pharmacist said that you should take two to start; they'll work better that way." When Cloud hesitated, Sephiroth spoke again using his commanding General voice. "I'll order another truck and ride separately from you. I'm _not_ watching you go through that again for no reason. If you want to torture yourself, you're doing it alone."

Cloud was shocked that his jaw didn't make contact with the table when his mouth dropped open. "Okay," he said quietly and held out his hand for the pills.

"Wow, Seph," Zack said as Cloud dutifully swallowed the pills. "I didn't think you had it in you to lay down the law like that."

Cloud saw the faintest hint of a blush on Sephiroth's face as he sat down. "Shut up," Sephiroth muttered, "I was bluffing. We'll wait an hour for the pills to start working and then we'll head out. We might as well order lunch while we're waiting." He glanced sideways at Cloud. "Are you mad?"

Cloud sighed, defeated. "Nah, I wouldn't want to deal with a sick person, either. And you're right, I'm useless anyways."

"I didn't mean _useless_ ," Sephiroth protested. "I just meant that—"

Cloud laughed. "It's okay, Sephiroth. I know you don't think I'm useless all the time. Just when I am. That's fair."

***

Their lunch took closer to two hours and Cloud was really feeling the effect of the pills when they made their way through the wind towards their waiting truck. His legs felt like lead and he kept tripping over the ridiculous stones that the path was paved with. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and leaned into Sephiroth's support. Right now, he didn't give a shit who saw them; he was _tired_.

He had his eyes closed and Sephiroth was practically holding him up while their driver introduced himself. Then he was being lifted up and was set down on what must have been the bench seating in the back of the truck.

"…come sit with you as soon as we're ready to move out. It shouldn't take long," Sephiroth's voice drifted across his mind and a few words caught. Sephiroth would sit with him. Cloud curled his lips into a smile and nodded.

What seemed like only a few minutes later, the truck hit a big bump and Cloud was jolted out of his sleep. He was lying on his side, between Sephiroth's legs and leaning against his chest. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and gave a big yawn.

"Welcome back, Spiky," Zack said from the back of the truck where he was keeping busy doing squats. "You've been out for over three hours."

"How are you feeling?" Sephiroth asked.

"Okay, my head's all fuzzy, but I don't feel sick." The truck hit another pothole and all three of them bounced. "Yet."

Sephiroth reached under the bench and took out a bottle of ginger beer and cracked it open, handing it to him. Cloud took a grateful sip. "Here." Sephiroth was holding out another pill and Cloud took it without arguing. It really was so much better like this; it was how he had survived the ship over to the Eastern Continent in the first place. And this wouldn't even end as badly as that had, what with getting his stuff stolen and nearly missing his port. This time, he had Sephiroth to watch out for him. He took a few more sips of his ginger beer and put the cap back on. Sephiroth silently reached for it and pulled Cloud in to lean against him again.

"Thank you," Cloud whispered.

***

They spent the night at a small outpost about halfway through the mountains that lead to North Corel. Cloud was extremely groggy the next morning and Sephiroth doled out more pills at breakfast. He glared at them with distaste before popping them in his mouth; they certainly served their purpose, but they sure didn't make him feel _good_.

The day passed much like the previous afternoon. Cloud would wake up occasionally, and Sephiroth would dose him again. Eventually, he got the point where he just couldn't sleep anymore, but had no energy whatsoever. He remained lying against Sephiroth's chest, staring at nothing on the opposite wall of the truck, and listening to his heartbeat. Sephiroth absently scratched at his nape, while Zack whined that he was bored. He was pretty sure they thought he was asleep when Zack whined one too many times and Sephiroth threatened to drug Zack as well if he didn't shut up. Zack retorted by saying that Sephiroth already had his hands full playing nursemaid. The weather kept getting worse, and when he started to shiver, Sephiroth wrapped a thick wool blanket around him.

Suddenly, the truck swerved, and Sephiroth gripped him tightly, covering him with his body as they skidded and slid out of control. Their driver proved his worth when they pulled out of the skid and came to a gentle halt. As soon as he could safely move, Sephiroth was up, with Cloud in his arms, grabbing Masamune from where it was stowed and moving to the front of the truck.

"What happened, Sergeant?" he demanded of their driver. The man just pointed out the windshield and Sephiroth ducked down to look. "Shit!" He hesitated a moment then, before handing Cloud over to the startled sergeant. "Get in the back. You will protect him, understood? Are you armed?"

The man nodded. "Yes, sir, I've got my pistol on me and a rifle in the back."

"Good, get back there and get it." Sephiroth turned to face Zack, who already had the Buster Sword strapped to his back. "Green dragon outside, your job is to keep it away from the transport."

Sephiroth and Zack jumped out the back and disappeared, off to face the enemy. Cloud sighed and looked at the man holding him. "You can put me down. I can stand just fine on my own, Sergeant."

"Right, sorry, sir." The sergeant set him on his feet and retrieved his weapons.

"I'm just a corporal."

"What's that?"

"I'm just a corporal in the regular army. You don't have to call me sir."

"Oh, I didn't realize. I thought you were a SOLDIER."

"Hmph, I wish." Cloud sat on the floor, holding his knees, and listened to the sounds of the battle outside. Zack was shouting curses and the dragon would occasionally give a trumpeting roar or a scream of anguish. There was nothing that Cloud could distinguish as Sephiroth's voice, but he supposed that was just the way he fought: silently. He glanced over at Murasame lying in its sheath by his things and felt utterly worthless. Even if he went out there, he'd just be in the way. He'd probably get someone hurt.

"Hey," the sergeant said, seeming to read his mind, "Regular army doesn't fight dragons. Ever. We see a dragon, we run. It's not because we're weak or useless, we just haven't been pumped full of shit to make us crazy strong. There's no shame in not being able to fight something like that. That's what SOLDIERs are for. It's why Shin-Ra pays them the big bucks."

"Thanks." Cloud offered a tentative smile. "I'm Cloud."

"Marcus. Nice to meet you while you're awake." He held out his big hand and shook Cloud's vigourously.

A loud thump sounded on the side of the truck causing both of them to jump. "Sorry!" Zack called from outside. "Everything's under control, not to worry!"

Cloud and Marcus exchanged nervous glances and Marcus gripped his rifle a bit tighter. "They'll be fine," Cloud said with determination. "Sephiroth is out there."

Eventually, there was one final, pained roar and the sound of trees breaking. He heard movement at the back of the truck and stood up when the door opened. Both Sephiroth and Zack were covered in blood, but Cloud couldn't tell if it was their blood, or the dragon's.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked nervously, dreading the answer.

"I'm unharmed," Sephiroth said, "But our esteemed Lieutenant Fair could use some patching up. Would you mind doing that?"

Cloud smiled broadly. That was something he could do, and he was feeling awake enough to handle it. There was something about being attacked by a dragon that could shock the drugs out of a person's system. He carefully cleaned Zack's assortment of wounds, then healed them up, feeling very pleased with his handiwork. There was no scarring at all; that would make Aerith happy. She always worried when Zack came home with new scars.

"Are dragons common in this area?" Sephiroth asked while Cloud was cleaning up the first aid supplies.

"Are we near Nibelheim?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Sergeant Turner said we're about an hour out, taking the weather into consideration."

"Then, yes, they're common, but I've never heard of them attacking humans before. They mostly just stick to the mountains. Goats are a lot less troublesome to eat and dragons are smart enough to know the difference."

"Hmm…" Sephiroth looked lost in his thoughts for a short while before he suddenly shook his head. "We should get back on the road. Do you want another pill?"

"I can handle an hour. We'll probably be driving slowly through the snow, won't we?" He looked hopefully at Marcus.

"Yeah, don't want to go too fast and run into a patch of ice. We'll take it nice and easy."

"Then I'll be fine." Cloud nodded firmly.

"All right, then. Come sit with me, anyways." Sephiroth held out his arms and Cloud grabbed the blanket again and snuggled up. It was nice having a personal heater during a snowstorm in an unheated truck.

***

After over an hour and a half, the truck pulled to a stop outside the gates of Nibelheim. Cloud was feeling a little queasy, but Marcus had been true to his word and kept the ride as gentle as he could. Still, he took several grateful lungfuls of the fresh mountain air before coughing hard as the cold assaulted his lungs. Sephiroth rubbed his back until he stopped coughing. Cloud quickly got his fit under control and grabbed his helmet from his pack, shoving it on his head before anyone noticed they were here.

"What are you doing?" Sephiroth asked. "There's no need to wear your helmet now, we won't begin the mission until tomorrow."

"I know, I just don't want anyone to recognize me, that's all."

"That's all? You're hiding from your entire town and that's all? I don't think so, take it off."

"Sephiroth, please, I'm tired. I don't want to see anyone I know right now."

"So you'll take it off tomorrow?"

"Can we just talk about it in the morning?"

"All right," Sephiroth grumbled. "But I don't like this. You've got no reason to hide."

Sephiroth lead the way to the town's only inn and asked for two rooms for the four of them. The innkeeper—an old man Cloud only knew as Mr. Guptar—had their things brought up to the two nicest rooms they had to offer. Nibelheimers might not like Shin-Ra too much, but they paid well. At least that was what Cloud had always been taught. Zack and Marcus were sent to one room; Sephiroth's excuse was that the regular army shouldn't be alone for security reasons. Zack laughed outright at that and even Marcus was snickering behind his hand. Mr. Guptar just looked confused and showed them the second room before heading back downstairs.

Sephiroth took one look at the two single beds and turned around, heading for the stairs.

"No! No, no, _no!_ " Cloud grabbed onto Sephiroth's arm and hung like a dead weight. "You are _not_ asking for a room with a bigger bed. No! We can push the beds together; that will work just fine. Or I'll sleep on top of you, or under you, or anything else you want. We can even take all the blankets and build a nest in the corner, but there will be _no_ requesting fewer beds."

Sephiroth stopped where he was and lifted his arm with Cloud attached to it until he was at eye level, looking at him with a rather bemused expression. "Okay," he said dubiously. "Won't it be uncomfortable with two mattresses?"

"I don't care. We're not advertising to Mr. Guptar that we're having 'the gay sex'," he whispered furiously. "It'll be all over town in a heartbeat. I'd like to tell my mother _myself_. Not have her find out through the gossip mill."

"Right, I understand. After you've told her, can we get a bigger bed?"

"No! This is a _small town_ , Sephiroth! People don't _do_ things like that! There's a reason I left, you know."

"All right, all right, have it your way." Sephiroth sighed dramatically and hauled Cloud into the small room. "Just so we're clear, because I'd hate to get in trouble, we _can_ 'do things like that', we just have to be sneaky about it so no one finds out?"

Cloud felt his face flush; he really had to stop doing that. Surely the point when you start having sex should be the point when you stop being embarrassed about it. "Yes, just… not tonight. Give me a day to recover from being doped up for two days straight."

"Of course, I understand. I've got a bit of a headache, anyways."

***

Cloud said he was tired, so they went back to their room straight after dinner. How he had managed to eat with that stupid helmet on, Sephiroth still wasn't sure. Sephiroth pushed the two small beds together while Cloud brushed his teeth, then took his turn in the bathroom. Cloud was huddled under the blankets when he came out.

"It's freezing in here," Cloud grumbled. "I had, mercifully, forgotten how cold it gets here. These stupid wood stoves take too long to heat up when there aren't any coals. Of course, when it gets going, it'll be like an oven in here. And then all the wood'll burn up while we're sleeping and it'll be freezing again when we wake up."

"Do you want me to get you another blanket? We've got some in our packs."

"No, I want you to get your enhanced ass in here and warm me up!"

"Right." Sephiroth hurried over. "I can do that."

When Cloud's shivering had stopped, Sephiroth decided to ask the question that had been on his mind since they had arrived. "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" Cloud asked, sounding confused.

"Well, this is your first time back in your hometown in a long time, so I was just wondering what it's like. I wouldn't know, I don't have a hometown…"

"Lucky bastard… It's terrifying being back here, if you want to know the truth. I feel like puking and running away screaming at the same time; you're the only reason I'm not. But how can you not have a hometown? You had to be born somewhere. And you were 'raised' in Midgar, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was raised there, but I don't know where I was born."

"Well, if you ask me, I think that makes Midgar your hometown. It's more about where you grew up, rather than where you were born. What about your parents?"

"My mother's name is Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. I don't know anything else about her. My father…" Sephiroth chuckled at the thought of mentioning his father.

"Your father?"

"What does it matter…? Let's go to sleep."

"No, I want to know. Who was your father?"

"Hojo." Sephiroth said quietly, ashamed to admit it. Cloud would probably freak out.

"Well, that sucks. It's a good thing you didn't inherit his looks. Or his personality, or anything else from him."

"You're—you're not disgusted?"

"Of course not!" Cloud sat up and looked him straight in the eyes. "You can't help who your parents are! Don't get me wrong, I feel horrible for you. That's one hell of a raw deal. Although I understand now, how you ended up as a lab rat. That man _would_ sacrifice his own son for science. But who your parents are has nothing to do with who _you_ are."

"Do you really think so?"

"Sure. People's parents can have an effect on them, but in the end, people make their own choices. And, Sephiroth, you're _nothing_ like Hojo, I promise you that. Are we clear?"

"We're clear. Thank you…"

"You're welcome, _now_ we can go to sleep." Cloud lay back down and rested his head on his chest. Sephiroth stroked Cloud's hair gently while he listened to Cloud's breathing slow as he fell asleep. Was Cloud right? Did it really not matter who his father was? That was a source of shame that he had lived with for so long… He sighed, if only that buzzing in the back of his head would quit, but it seemed to be getting louder as time passed. The mako smell was pretty bad here too; he supposed the locals just got used to it. They probably didn't even know what it was. He shut his eyes and breathed in Cloud's scent, trying to block out the stench and buzzing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Boss!" The door to Tseng's office banged open and Reno came flying in, in a flurry of red hair. "Boss, take a look. I was looking around the president's office and I found this."

Tseng took the sheet of paper Reno was holding out with no small amount of trepidation. The expression on Reno's face made him certain it was bad news.

 _President Shinra,_

 _The plan has been set in motion. The mission order was accepted without suspicion; Sephiroth and Specimen C are on their way to her. I will be able to determine if Sephiroth is indeed that failure that I suspect him to be. My hypothesis is that we waited too long in reintroducing him to her. The appearance of Specimen C in his life was unforeseeable and I believe this has had an effect on his ability to bond with her. If my hypothesis turns out to be correct, he will be disposed of; we have no use for a failure. The loss will be recuperated by Specimen C, which is fitting, considering that it is his fault. I suspect that, given time, he will be even more powerful than Sephiroth. Project C also has the benefit of starting with an adult specimen. He should be ready for testing within three months and fully complete within a year. I will ensure that he bonds with her as soon as possible to prevent another failure._

 _Hojo_

Tseng stared at the page in horror. "Get Rufus and Rude in here. Now. And get Cissnei and Rod too," he ordered, and Reno scampered out of the room. How could this have happened? He shook his head, now was not the time. He had to warn Sephiroth. He picked up his PHS and dialled Sephiroth's number. The phone rang once and the connection was dropped. He tried again and was told that the number was in an area that was out of service. After several more tries, he called Zack, and then Cloud; it was the same with their phones. They would either ring once and disconnect, or there would be no signal at all. He kept trying until Reno came back with everyone he had been told to retrieve.

Tseng let everyone read the letter before he turned on Cissnei. "I thought you told me that you hadn't let Hojo find out about Cloud?"

"I didn't!" she protested. "Even when their relationship went public, I made _sure_ that he didn't find out. The virus I put on his PHS _is_ working, I check it constantly, he doesn't get any messages from any fanclubs and I filter everything that contains the words 'cloud' or 'strife'. My spies in the lab said he showed no reactions at all after the press conference was held. He _didn't_ find out because of that."

"Well he found out somehow, care to make a guess?" Tseng hissed in fury.

Before Cissnei could speak again, Reno stepped forward. "Um, boss?"

"What?"

"It—It was—It wasn't Cissnei's fault. I mean, fuck… he found out from me."

"What? How the _fuck_ did he find out from you?"

"It was a long time ago! When I first joined. Hojo told me to find out what was distracting Sephiroth, so I did. I didn't realize that I wasn't supposed to rat him out like that! I'm so sorry." Reno was pleading with him with his eyes.

Tseng took several deep breaths. That was understandable. A rookie mistake, although he should have known to always check with him when he got a mission directly from someone. But that wasn't what was bothering him. "Why, in Gaia's name, did you not mention this earlier? Perhaps a good opportunity would have been when I said that I believed that Hojo didn't know about their relationship."

"I—I fucked up."

"Yes. You did." Tseng's voice was deadly in its calmness. "I'll deal with you later. For now, we have to fix this," he said to the rest of the room. "I can't get in contact with any of them in Nibelheim. It's probably the weather there, but I'm not putting anything past Hojo. I want numbers for _everyone_ in that town. We're going to call them all and keep calling until we get through. Rude, take Aerith into protective custody, her mother as well. Explain the basics of what's going on and get them to one of Rufus's safe houses. Rufus, how close are you to being ready to make your move?"

"Not close enough, I'm afraid." Rufus shook his head. "I'll do what I can to speed things up, but if I rush it, I'll fail."

"All right, work as fast as you can, but success is the only thing that matters in the end."

"Yes, sir," Rufus said enthusiastically.

Tseng jerked his head up. "Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to order you."

"I was just joking. You look like you could use a laugh. Sephiroth can take care of himself against one pathetic scientist."

Tseng nodded, but he wasn't so sure. Hojo must have been planning this since he had learned about Cloud. He would have taken Sephiroth's strength into account. The casual mention of how he would be disposed of sounded far too confident.

***

It was before dawn when Sephiroth woke. The temperature in the room had dropped significantly and Cloud had worked his way underneath him. He got up and restarted the fire in the stove, using his Fire materia and adding logs until he had a roaring blaze going. When he shut the door on the stove, he felt the temperature begin to gradually creep upwards. Just in case, he grabbed two blankets from the packs and wrapped them around Cloud's huddled form, making sure that he was as covered as possible while still being able to breath. Then he got dressed silently and left the room.

The window in the upstairs hallway offered a view of the Nibel Mountains and there was something oddly familiar about it. It felt almost like he had been there before. And like something was calling him home. The buzzing in his head suddenly got louder and sharper and Sephiroth clapped his hands over his ears, trying vainly to block the noise out. He didn't want to listen to it. Didn't want to hear what it was trying to say. Say? Sephiroth paused, confused. It was just buzzing… it wasn't speaking… He removed his hands from his ears and tried to concentrate past the pain, listening for anything he might recognize as words.

That was how Cloud found him over two hours later, with his hands pressed against the glass of the window, looking out over the snowy landscape with a vacant expression. While he hadn't been able to make out _words_ , there was a meaning to what he was hearing, he was sure of it.

"Sephiroth, are you okay?" Cloud had a blanket wrapped around him and he was wearing his boots with the laces undone.

"I'm fine, Cloud." Sephiroth turned back to the window.

"Are you sure? Do you still have a headache?"

"I said I'm fine!" Didn't Cloud realize he was trying to listen?

"Now I _know_ you're not fine." Cloud pushed his way between him and the window and hoisted himself up onto the wide frame. "You don't yell at me for worrying about you when you're fine. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry." Sephiroth immediately stopped paying attention to the buzzing. "I didn't mean to yell. I'm just—I don't know what's wrong. I feel strange."

Cloud reached up and felt his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever… Does your head still hurt?"

"A bit, don't worry about it. I think it's just the mako smell here. It's so strong."

"Yeah, I never noticed it growing up, but now that I've been away and come back, I'm noticing it." Cloud leaned into him and shivered. "It's cold out here."

Sephiroth picked Cloud up from the windowsill. "Let's go back to the room then."

He set Cloud down on the beds and put a few more logs in the stove before curling up beside Cloud. "So, my plan for today is to hunt down any monsters near the town, that's probably the most important thing to do. Then can I meet your mother?"

"Okay, that sounds good. She'll probably want to feed us, so maybe if I stopped by in the morning to let her know that I'm in town, then we won't catch her by surprise."

"All right, we can do that. How should I act around her?"

"Umm, I guess, just be yourself. She's not a huge stickler for politeness, but be nice and umm, keep your hands to yourself. I'd rather not traumatize her by having you grope me."

"Right. That makes sense. No kissing, either?"

"Definitely not until I've told her about us. After that, well, I'll see how she takes it. How about, if I think it's okay, I'll kiss you?"

"Okay." Sephiroth nodded. "We should get ready to go now. I want to do a complete sweep of the town's perimeter so that will take quite a while."

***

Sephiroth stepped out of the bathroom and took one look at Cloud. "Take it off," he ordered.

"What?"

"Take off that Gaia-damned helmet!"

"Sephiroth," Cloud protested, "I—I don't want—I can't—" Cloud took off the helmet and threw it across the room in frustration. "You've got no idea what it's like! You dragged me back to a place I hate and now you want me to just, what, Sephiroth? Parade around town like people will be _glad_ to see me?"

Tears had gathered in Cloud's eyes and started to fall in large drops as he shouted. Sephiroth ran over to his side and held him close. "No, Cloud. No. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. That's not what—I mean, I just don't want you to feel like you have to hide. If you're worried about—"

"I told _everyone_ here that I wasn't coming back until I was a SOLDIER. They all laughed and said I couldn't do it, but I promised them that I'd succeed. But now I'm back and I'm still a trooper. They're all going to think I'm the failure they knew I'd be."

"That's not true, Cloud, you know that. I'll explain to anyone who asks, that—"

"That what? I missed the last recruitment cycle because I got kidnapped, tortured, and raped and my hand was too fucked up to do anything? While you're at it, do you want to mention how I sometimes sleep with a stuffed chocobo when the nightmares get really bad?"

"Cloud, would you listen to me?" Sephiroth was starting to get frustrated. And the buzzing was back, louder than before. He tried his best to block it out; Cloud needed him now. "That's not what I'm saying at all. I would never tell them that, you know that. But I can tell them that the last recruitment cycle was held early, when you were still sixteen. You weren't able to apply then, but you're certain to make it when you apply at the end of the month. What do the people here know about recruitment cycles anyways?" He leaned down and gently kissed Cloud's forehead. "You were chosen, by me, for this mission because of your skills and your expertise. The fact that you're still a trooper makes it that much more impressive. This is a SOLDIER mission, Cloud. I'll make sure that they know that. Please? You don't need to hide."

"Why do you even care whether or not I wear my helmet?" Cloud asked with a distinct pout to his tone.

"Because I love you and I hate that you feel like you have to hide from these idiots. Also, I can't see your face when you're wearing it and that makes me sad. I like looking at your face."

Cloud gave a defeated sounding sigh and Sephiroth perked up. Had he won? "I won't wear it to breakfast or for the walk to my mother's house. After that, I'm putting it on, okay?"

"Okay, that's fair." Sephiroth kissed Cloud's forehead again and planted one on top of his head for good measure.

***

The dining room of the inn was fairly quiet when they entered, there were just a few early risers there for their morning coffees. But it went dead silent when Cloud stepped out from behind Sephiroth's back and took his seat. Sephiroth could feel the stares as everyone in the room turned, almost as one, to look at Cloud, who just hunched over and poked at a gouge in the table. Sephiroth sat down next to him and resisted the urge to hug him. He had hoped that Cloud had just been blowing things out of proportion, but his fears were confirmed when Mr. Guptar approached them.

"Thought, you weren't comin' back here till you were a SOLDIER, boy? What happened, they didn't want you, either?"

"No, sir, I…" Cloud's voice was barely audible and it trailed off into nothingness.

"Unfortunately for SOLDIER, Corporal Strife missed the age cutoff by mere days during the last recruitment cycle. He was still sixteen and therefore, unable to join us. There was no way to work around the bureaucracy, so he has to wait until the cycle coming up at the end of the month. He shows so much promise, however, that he often comes on SOLDIER missions." Sephiroth spoke matter-of-factly and stared Mr Guptar down. "I hand-picked him for this mission because of his skills, so I can assure you, there is no chance that Strife is not _wanted_ in SOLDIER. Now, we'd like our breakfast, please. We have a hard day ahead of us."

***

Sephiroth hung back with Zack and Marcus while Cloud knocked on his mother's door. It was early enough that there had been very few people out on the streets when they made their way across town, so no one else had recognized Cloud. Sephiroth had the feeling, though, that word would be all over town by the time they got back from today's mission. He sighed, at least the people in the inn seemed to have accepted his story about Cloud being too young and didn't bother him any more about it.

The door to Cloud's house opened and he saw a woman who couldn't have been much past her mid-thirties with bright blonde hair just like Cloud's, if perhaps a bit neater. She stared in shock for a moment or two before throwing herself at her son. Cloud endured what looked like a bone-crushing hug while Mrs. Strife shrieked about how long it had been since she'd seen her baby. Eventually, she calmed down enough for Cloud to explain why he was there. Sephiroth saw him gesturing towards their group and Mrs. Strife looked over and waved happily. Cloud spoke to her for a while longer and she nodded and smiled a lot before giving him another hug and kissing him several times wherever she could reach; Cloud kept turning his head away in embarrassment.

When Cloud finally returned to them, he was bright red, but grinning from ear to ear. "You're all invited for dinner, she's going to make a big feast for us, so be prepared to eat. When my mother says feast, she means _feast_."

"Can't wait, Spiky!" Zack sounded thrilled at the idea.

"Me neither," Cloud said, "I've missed her cooking. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I asked her to make proper Maultaschen specially for you."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course! What, are you scared to try it?" Cloud flashed a grin at Sephiroth before plonking his helmet onto his head.

"I'm not scared, it's just gross!" Zack protested.

"You don't know it's gross if you've never tried it, Zack," Sephiroth butted in. "Now, focus, we've got a mission to do."

***

"My feet are _freezing_ , Sephiroth! Feel! Feel!" Cloud laughed and hopped on one foot while he poked Sephiroth's bare side with the other. Sephiroth couldn't keep from jerking away at the shock, but grabbed onto the foot and clapped it between his palms.

"Shiva's tits, Cloud, weren't you wearing any socks?"

"I was! Two pairs!" Cloud grabbed onto the back of one of the chairs in their room so he could keep his balance while Sephiroth tried to warm his foot.

"Dammit, you should have _said_ something if you were getting too cold. Come on, you should take a bath to warm up."

"Tseng's right, you _are_ a mother chocobo, Sephiroth. I wasn't _too_ cold, I was cold; there's a difference. I've lived here long enough to know what frostbite feels like; this wasn't anywhere close. A bath does sound wonderful, though. Mom's not expecting us until six-thirty, so we've got time."

Sephiroth glanced at the clock. They had an hour and a half; that would work. "I know, I'm sorry, you did a really great job today. We definitely would've gotten lost if it wasn't for you," he said as he walked into the bathroom to start running a bath.

"Pshh, you've got your little internal compass that never fails you; you would've been just fine." Cloud followed him in and started stripping off the remainder of his layers.

"Maybe, but that wouldn't have helped us find all the little game trails you knew about so we didn't have to wade through the snow. And it wouldn't have helped us tell the difference between the monsters and what's considered normal around here."

"Not that that really helped a whole lot. I could tell you that it wasn't normal when they attacked us, but… they still attacked us."

"Still, it let me know that something is seriously wrong here. That's important. Hop in and let me know if the temperature's all right."

Cloud blushed and shyly pushed his underwear down; he tried to keep himself covered as best he could as he stepped into the bath. "Are—are you just going to watch?"

"Do you want me to join you?" Sephiroth purred. "Or, shit, I can also go, I didn't mean—"

"I want you to join me, the water's nice. You should warm up too," Cloud said with a smirk.

"All right, then." Sephiroth stood and twisted his hair into a bun to keep it out of the water. There was no way he was going to have time to dry it if it got wet. He stripped off his pants and stepped into the tub. Cloud scooted forwards so Sephiroth could sit behind him; it was a bit cramped with two people, but the water felt nice, all the same. He gave a tug on Cloud's shoulders so he leaned back against him. Cloud rested his head against his chest and Sephiroth buried his nose in his hair, inhaling deeply. When the bath was full, Cloud reached out with his foot to shut it off.

"This is nice," he murmured as he resettled himself.

"Mmm hmm," Sephiroth hummed his agreement with his eyes half-closed. It was more than nice; he couldn't even hear the awful buzzing right now. He absentmindedly petted Cloud's hair while he relaxed in the warm water. He wasn't sure how long they sat there, but it was a while before Cloud broke the silence.

"Sephiroth," he spoke slowly, sounding horrified, "We never moved the beds back this morning."

"Huh?" Sephiroth had been drifting off and he couldn't figure out what Cloud was talking about.

"The beds! We pushed them together and we left them like that when we left!"

"So?"

"So, Mrs. Guptar came in to tidy up!"

Realization dawned on him and Sephiroth let out a burst of laughter.

"It's not funny!" Cloud spun around and smacked him on the arm. "She knows! The beds were made and everything! Sephiroth, what are we gonna do?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sephiroth was still laughing between apologies. "It's just, can you imagine her face?" Cloud looked near tears, however, so Sephiroth put forward a great effort and got his laughter under control. "Cloud, if word spreads and everyone finds out about us, I will be right there, by your side, okay? You're not alone anymore. Anyone who wants to pick on you has to come through me first. And if they get by me, they'll have Zack to contend with. Probably Marcus, too. He seems pretty nice, don't you think?"

"Yeah, he's a good guy…" Cloud twisted around so he was able to wrap his arms around Sephiroth's waist.

"So don't worry about it. Whatever happens, happens, but you don't have to deal with it alone."

"Okay…"

"And you've got to admit, her expression was probably hilarious when she figured it out."

Cloud let out a small giggle. "Yeah, she was probably so shocked."

"I bet she dropped everything she was holding and just stared in horror." Sephiroth caught a glimpse of the clock out of the corner of his eye. "Shit! We've got to get ready or we'll be late."

Cloud looked up at the clock and scrambled out of the bath, splashing water everywhere. He grabbed two towels and tossed one to Sephiroth before hastily rubbing himself down. "Shit, shit, shit! She hates it when I'm late!"

Sephiroth dried off as quickly as he could and ran out to the main room where he found Cloud in a pair of boxers, digging through his bag. "Aha!" he cried triumphantly and held up a pair of black slacks.

Sephiroth had already unpacked the clothes he brought for meeting Mrs. Strife so they wouldn't get wrinkled, and quickly dressed and ran his brush through his hair.

"Are you ready?" Cloud asked while attempting to tie his shoelaces while hopping on one foot.

Sephiroth finished buckling his boots and grabbed both of their jackets. "Yep, let's go."

They ran down the stairs and Cloud barrelled into Zack, who was on his way up. "I was just coming to get you guys," Zack said, "What took you so long?"

"We lost track of time." Sephiroth caught a glimpse of Mrs. Guptar smiling at him as he handed Cloud his jacket and ushered everyone out the door. He attempted a smile at her in hopes that it would at least encourage _some_ empathy for them.

***

The cold slammed into them like a brick wall when they stepped out the door. Cloud pulled the fur-lined hood on his jacket up and ducked his head down. Marcus copied him, although his jacket didn't have the benefit of a fur lining.

"Did you bring that jacket to Midgar from Nibelheim?" Sephiroth raised his voice over the howling of the wind.

"Yeah, I never needed it, though, until you took me to the ocean. It's too warm in Midgar."

"Cloud?" a female voice called. "Cloud, is that really you?" A young woman with brown hair trailing out of her hood ran over to them, stamping her feet against the cold.

Sephiroth saw Cloud stiffen, despite all the clothes he was wearing and his tone was extremely defensive when he answered. "Yeah, Tifa, it's me."

"So, you're like a SOLDIER now, right?"

"No, I'm not—I didn't—I mean, I—not yet."

Sephiroth hovered helplessly, unsure of whether or not he should say something. This was the girl who had caused all the trouble for Cloud.

"But you're on a mission with SOLDIERs, right? That's what my dad said. You're like their helper or something."

"Cloud is here as an expert in the local geography and as a materia specialist." Sephiroth bristled at the insinuation that Cloud was merely a _helper_.

"Wow, you're the Silver General! That's so cool! Well, I'm also an expert around these parts, so if you need a guide, you can call on me."

"Your offer is noted, but it won't be necessary, Cloud is an excellent guide, who _doesn't_ need to be babysat. We have no use for civilians. Now if you'll excuse us, we have an appointment and you're making us late." Sephiroth nodded coldly at Tifa, who was looking absolutely flabbergasted, and pushed Cloud ahead of him as he continued down the street.

He heard Zack giving a hurried, "Nice to meet you, miss," before he followed after them, with Marcus taking up the rear.

As soon as they were far enough away that Tifa wouldn't hear them, if she was still there, Sephiroth stepped up next to Cloud. "Sorry, did I overstep…? She just made me so angry, I don't know why, exactly."

"Are you kidding? You probably just did her a world of good by telling her that. And the look on her face was pretty priceless. But, a materia specialist?"

"You're excellent with materia, I thought it was fitting. How did I do her good? I thought I just put her in her place."

"Exactly, no one's ever done that before. Maybe she'll figure out that not everyone is going to love her just because she's Tifa Lockheart."

"I see…" The girl definitely had some growing up to do, but maybe she wasn't _all_ bad. She probably hadn't hurt Cloud intentionally.

"And my petty side was really happy that I got to see her get put in her place, so thanks." Cloud grinned up at him from behind his hood as he came to a stop in front of his door. "Ready to meet my mom?"

"I hope so."

Cloud reached out and turned the doorknob. "Mom? We're here," he called.

"Come in! Get in out of the cold, quick, boys." Mrs. Strife came rushing towards the door, wiping her hands on her apron. Everyone piled into the small entryway and shuffled around, trying to get their boots and jackets off without knocking anyone else over. Cloud was the fastest and took everyone's coats from them and hung them up in a wooden cabinet in the hall. He kissed his mother hello and the two led them into a cozy living room.

"It's so nice to get to meet all of you," Mrs. Strife said happily. "I've been so worried about my baby after he ran off to join the army."

"Mom," Cloud sighed. "I'm not your baby anymore…"

"Of course you are, you'll always be my baby, Cloud."

"Anyways, this is Sephiroth, Zack Fair, and Marcus Turner." Cloud gestured to each of them in turn and Mrs. Strife beamed.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am!" Zack held out his hand and shook hers enthusiastically. "I've heard so much about you."

Marcus also greeted Mrs. Strife and shook her hand. Sephiroth hesitantly held out his own; actually doing this was a lot scarier than he had thought it would be. He really wanted to make a good impression. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Strife. I've also heard a lot about you."

"Just Alde is fine, General."

"Then, please, Alde, call me Sephiroth."

"I can't believe you've heard about me, though. Is my Cloud really hobnobbing with the general of the army?"

Sephiroth floundered, wondering what to say to that, what exactly did 'hobnobbing' mean, anyways? Cloud came to his rescue, however. "I'm not hobnobbing with anyone, Mom, we just hang out."

"That's wonderful, Cloud, I'm so proud of you! I knew you'd be able to make lots of friends. Now you boys sit down here for a few minutes while I finish up a few things in the kitchen." With that, she scurried off around the corner into what was presumably the kitchen.

"I'm surprised she didn't pinch my cheeks," Cloud grumbled and flopped down onto a chair. "She's not always like this, so you know, I think she just missed me a lot. And she was really worried when I left. She didn't want me to join the army."

"She didn't want you to join?" Sephiroth asked.

"No, she was totally against it. We fought for weeks about it and when I left, she was still mad. But it's what I wanted to do, so…"

"You can do that? But, she's your mother, Cloud." Sephiroth was confused. Weren't people supposed to do what their parents told them?

"Of course I can, I was old enough—according to Nibelheim laws—that I didn't need her permission to join. I called her as soon as I got to Midgar and we both apologized, although there was no way I was coming home." Cloud turned and looked Sephiroth in the eye. "She's my mother and I love her, but I live my own life. I'm not going to do something just to make her happy. I mean, she wanted me to stay here and be a farmer! I would've been miserable!"

"My parents weren't too keen on the idea either," Zack said. "It was way too dangerous for their little boy."

"Yeah," Marcus agreed, "It's a hard thing for parents to accept. They don't like letting us grow up; I should know, my son's at the age where he's dreaming of becoming a SOLDIER."

"Wow, Sarge, you're an old man!" Zack laughed. "So, Cloud, the old man and I'll fuck off after dinner, right? Give you three a chance to talk?"

"Yeah, that'd be good, thanks," Cloud said nervously. Sephiroth reached out and gave Cloud's shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

"No problem, Spiky, and I'm sure everything'll be fine."

Alde poked her head around the corner and Sephiroth jerked his hand away from Cloud as though it was burned. "Dinner's ready!" she called.

***

Dinner went quite well, Sephiroth thought. He had to pull rank on Zack to make him try the Maultaschen, which had both Cloud and Alde in stitches. It turned out that Zack _did_ like it; he just had trouble getting over the fact that it was wolf he was eating. When they were clearing away the dishes, Cloud commented on the size of the pile of logs next to the stove.

"Are you getting enough wood chopped, Mom? Doesn't Johnny do that for you?"

"I can chop my own wood, Cloud."

"He told me he'd make sure you didn't have to." Cloud sounded incredibly hurt.

"Where's the wood, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked quietly. "We can all do that now."

Cloud smiled broadly. "I'll show you."

"Cloud!" Alde shrieked. "You don't need to have the general of the Shin-Ra army chop wood for us!"

"It's fine, ma'am, really, we owe you for that wonderful dinner. We don't mind at all. Do you have a large supply?"

"Yes, I just had a load delivered, so maybe if you just chop a few pieces…"

"We'll get it all done," Sephiroth assured her.

Cloud had them grab their boots and jackets, and then led them to the back door. "Any clue how to chop wood?"

"It's violence directed towards logs, I'm sure I can handle that."

"You're so gonna chop your foot off."

"Cloud! That's your _superior_ officer and he's doing you a favour! Mind your manners!"

"Yes, Mom," Cloud said dryly as he shut the door behind them. "It's this way." Cloud led them to a large shed with an overhang over a massive pile of logs. He unlocked the shed doors, which opened a gap in almost the entire wall, and flicked a couple switches inside. Light flooded the area, both inside and out, causing Sephiroth to blink furiously; it was almost as bright as daylight. Inside, several axes of varying sizes hung on the walls and there was more wood stacked, but the chopped piles were pitifully small. There were also a couple of huge stumps that looked like they were a permanent part of the floor.

"Okay," Cloud said, "Pay attention if you like your limbs." Cloud grabbed an axe off the wall and a log. He set it on one of the stumps, set his feet in a wide stance, and swung the axe over his shoulder and into the centre of the log. It went about half way in and stopped, so Cloud picked the whole thing up and slammed it back down into the stump. The log spilt neatly in half and Cloud picked up one half, setting it back on the stump. He chopped it into quarters, then held out the axe to Sephiroth. "And that's how it's done. Don't hold the log while you're chopping. If you can't get it to stand up, hold it carefully with the axe head against the wood and tap the whole thing until it's far enough in that you can swing it all together, like I did to split it the first time."

"Understood." Sephiroth picked up another log and mimicked Cloud's actions, resulting in a very neatly split log in one swing.

"Good job!" Cloud clapped his hands and looked at Zack. "Your turn." Zack was also successful and Cloud let them go at it while he and Marcus chopped kindling. Apparently, a regular army person was more likely to be adept at chopping kindling than a SOLDIER.

"SOLDIERs just use their materia to set the whole tree on fire," Marcus explained. "Regular army has to use silly things like matches, so we need to know how to chop kindling without cutting off our fingers."

"The nearest hospital's a _long_ ways away, and I don't trust my healing skills to reattach fingers. Plus, you guys have super-strength, so you get the labour-intensive job."

Sephiroth and Zack worked quickly, but there was a lot of wood to go through. After about an hour of work, they had put a sizable dent in the pile and Zack paused, leaning on his axe. "Why don't we call it a night, guys? We can finish up tomorrow. You two need to go talk to your mom, Cloud."

Cloud glanced up at Zack and nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Thanks for all your help." He set his hatchet back on the wall and Sephiroth followed suit. He led him back to the kitchen where they found Alde sitting by the stove with a cup of tea.

"We've gotten through a lot of it, Mom, we'll finish the rest tomorrow, or maybe the next day, since we have to go the reactor tomorrow." Cloud dragged two chairs over to the stove and motioned for Sephiroth to sit down.

"Thank you so much, boys, I really appreciate it. It's so hard to keep enough chopped by myself."

"You're welcome, I'm glad we could help," Sephiroth said while he took his seat.

Alde smiled brightly at him, a smile that was remarkably similar to Cloud's. "You're such a lovely young man." She turned her attention to Cloud, then. "You hardly talked about how you've been at dinner, Cloud," she admonished him, "And I _never_ get any letters."

"That's not true, I send you one every month!"

"No, you didn't send any all summer and it wasn't until late in the fall that I got another one. I miss you, Cloud. Sorry, Sephiroth, sir," she said as an aside, "I don't mean to ignore you."

"It's not a problem, it's been a long time since you've seen each other, you need to catch up."

"You're quite right." She smiled brightly and turned back to Cloud. "You've grown so much since you've been gone. And you're so handsome; I'll bet you get all the girls."

"Not really…"

"I've been so worried about you; there are so many temptations in the big city. Are you doing all right?"

"Yeah, I've been great."

"Well, I'd feel better if you settled down with a nice girlfriend. You need someone to take care of you. Someone who loves you."

"I—I h—have someone, Mom."

"Really? Cloud, that's wonderful! Why didn't you tell me? What's she like? What's her name?"

Cloud looked at the floor and shook his head. "No, Mom, it's not—I mean, I—" Cloud reached out and took hold of Sephiroth's hand. "I'm with Sephiroth," he said with something nearing confidence. "He's my boyfriend."

"What?" Alde stared at them. "He's what?"


	3. Chapter 3

"What?" Alde stared at them. "He's what?"

"My—my boyfriend," Cloud stuttered. Sephiroth squeezed his hand tightly. Alde didn't sound pleased at all.

"Cloud… I—You're joking, right?"

"No, Mom, I'm not joking. Sephiroth and I are together. I'm gay."

"Are you sure? Maybe you just haven't met the right girl."

"I'm sure, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I wasn't sure until after I went to Midgar and then I didn't want to tell you over the phone or something."

"I knew you shouldn't have gone to the city alone." Alde stood and started pacing. "You're too young, there are probably so many temptations in the city, and you got confused."

"I'm not confused! I love Sephiroth! I've never been so sure of anything in my life!" Cloud pushed himself out of his chair and stepped in front of her.

"Of course you do, honey, of course. I know you _think_ you feel that way, but he's not going to feel the same way about you. He's so much older than you, Cloud, he's just taking advantage."

"I assure you, ma'am," Sephiroth spoke up, "I also love Cloud just as much as he loves me. I would never take advantage of him."

Alde seemed to remember Sephiroth was there then, and turned on him with an expression of pure fury. "How dare you!? What else have you told him? You're not taking advantage? How is that even possible? He's a corporal, you're a general, of _course_ he feels threatened into being with you!"

"Mom!" Cloud shouted, "Don't talk to him like that!"

"Why shouldn't I? He corrupted you!" Alde turned back to continue yelling at Cloud and Sephiroth hung back, feeling incredibly awkward. This was _not_ what he had expected when Cloud said she might be shocked. He hadn't even considered that the fact that he was _Sephiroth_ would be the problem. Cloud and Alde continued screaming at each other; Sephiroth had never seen two people who supposedly loved each other fight like that before, each giving as good as they got. Although, Alde seemed to be more angry at _him_ than at Cloud. And she seemed to be getting frustrated that Cloud wasn't listening to her arguments that Sephiroth was just toying with him.

Eventually, Cloud had had enough; he whipped around and grabbed Sephiroth's hand. "We don't have to put up with this, let's go." Cloud hauled him towards the door and Sephiroth barely had a chance to grab their coats before they were through it. Cloud slammed it as hard as he could and the bang echoed through the cold night air. Then he was off, storming towards the inn.

"Cloud, slow down, put your coat on." Sephiroth hurried after Cloud and tried to get him to stop long enough to put the jacket on.

"I don't want it!" Cloud yelled, shoving it away.

"You need it, Cloud, it's too cold. Please?" Sephiroth settled for wrapping it around Cloud's shoulders and doing his best to hold it shut against the wind and blowing snow.

"I don't want it," Cloud repeated, more quietly. He sounded like he was struggling not to cry.

"I know." Sephiroth pulled up the hood and gave Cloud a quick hug and a kiss on his forehead. "Let's go back to the inn, okay?"

Cloud nodded and they began trudging their way through the snow. When they got to the inn, the bar was full of people chatting loudly. Sephiroth kept his arms around Cloud and led him towards the stairs, all the while feeling the heavy weight of everyone's eyes on them. This was definitely going to cause rumours. He caught a glimpse of Zack and Marcus standing up from their table and tried shaking his head to warn them off. Cloud wouldn't want to deal with anyone now. But they followed them up the stairs and waited in the hall while Sephiroth led Cloud into their room and sat him on the bed.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

Cloud just nodded and shoved his coat angrily off his shoulders. Sephiroth poked his head out the door and Zack came over.

"I take it it didn't go well?" Zack asked.

"No," Sephiroth said simply.

"If you need anything, let us know, all right?"

"I will, thank you."

Zack and Marcus both smiled encouragingly at him and headed over to their room. Sephiroth shut the door and locked it before turning back to Cloud, who had just finished changing into his pyjamas.

"Are you all right?" Sephiroth asked for lack of anything better to say.

"Not really." He flopped down on the beds and held out his arms. "Will you hold me?"

"Of course. Let me just get changed." Sephiroth stripped down and put on his sleep pants as quickly as he could, then tossed several logs in the stove. He lay down next to Cloud and pulled him into his arms. "I _do_ love you. I'm not toying with your feelings, I promise." Sephiroth felt the urge to emphasize that after everything Alde had said.

"I know. She doesn't have a clue what she's talking about. And I'm _not_ confused. I love you too." Cloud shifted a little closer, pressing his thigh into Sephiroth's groin and planting a few lingering kisses on his bare chest.

"Cloud, are you sure?" Sephiroth asked when Cloud sucked a nipple into his mouth and nibbled at it.

"Yes… please, I just need… I dunno, contact."

Sephiroth tilted Cloud's head upward and shifted his body down so he could kiss him. He kissed all over Cloud's face and tasted the lingering salt from the few tears Cloud had allowed to fall. He let Cloud set their pace and it didn't take long for them to both end up naked; with sweat running down their bodies as the small stove filled the room with stifling heat. Cloud was on top of him, grinding his erection into Sephiroth's and he grabbed Sephiroth's hand, guiding down his sweat-slicked backside and between his cheeks.

"Let me grab the lube, Cloud," Sephiroth said firmly.

Cloud moaned in frustration, but rolled off of Sephiroth and let him grab his pack. He rummaged through it and came up with the small tube he had packed. Squeezing some out onto his fingers, Sephiroth urged Cloud onto his back and spread his legs. He ignored Cloud's protests that he should hurry up, and took his time, carefully preparing him. Finally, he decided that Cloud was stretched enough and withdrew his fingers.

"Roll on to your stomach," he instructed gently. Cloud complied and Sephiroth lifted his hips slightly. He positioned himself at Cloud's entrance and rubbed his lower back. "Okay, deep breath, good, and let it out." Sephiroth slid slowly in, rocking back and forth and allowing Cloud's body to adjust as he moved in further. This was the hardest part; every fibre in his body was screaming at him to just slam in as hard and fast as he could. But he held himself in check and kept his pace nice and slow. Soon enough, he was deeply seated in Cloud's tight body and he used one arm to hold Cloud's hips tightly to his own and the other, he kept wrapped around Cloud's chest. He rolled them as one onto their sides. "Are you okay like this?" he asked, leaning down to press light kisses onto the side of Cloud's face.

"Yeah. Are we going to, like this?"

"If you're okay with it."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I think so. You can move now, if you want."

Sephiroth leaned around so he could kiss Cloud on the lips, and then began slowly moving his hips. This position didn't allow for very deep penetration, but Cloud was so tight around him, and from the various pleasure-filled moans coming from Cloud, it was a good position for him too. It also allowed him to hold Cloud as close as physically possible, which was probably what he needed right now.

He kept their lovemaking slow and gentle, relishing Cloud's scent and the sensation of their slick bodies rubbing up against each other. When Cloud gasped his name and spilled himself into Sephiroth's hand, it didn't take long for Sephiroth to follow him into release. He gripped Cloud's hips tightly, while Cloud's muscles spasmodically clenched around him, encouraging wave after wave of pleasure to roll through his body. He gritted his teeth, not wanting to make a lot of noise that would, without a doubt, be heard from downstairs.

He hugged Cloud tightly and kissed him several times. "I love you so much, Cloud."

***

It didn't take long for Cloud to fall asleep after they had gotten cleaned up, but Sephiroth couldn't sleep, not when the buzzing came back. It felt like it was angry, somehow, and, it was weird, but he also got an impression of jealousy from it. He didn't want to disturb Cloud by tossing and turning, so he slipped out of bed and pulled his pants back on. He checked that the stove had enough wood in it and went back out to the hallway. He could hear voices coming from the bar, but decided against going down; he didn't want to deal with people right now. And it probably wasn't appropriate to not wear a shirt. He sat down at the top of the stairs instead and leaned his head against the wall.

"Should've expected he'd be a queer," a gruff voice trailed up the stairs. "Never once showed an interest in any girls, did he?"

Sephiroth gripped his knees until his knuckles turned white; they were talking about Cloud, he knew it.

"Did you see 'im crying when he came in tonight? Alde probably kicked him out, who would want to acknowledge their faggot son?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Herb," a woman, possibly Mrs. Guptar spoke up. "Alde loves her boy, no matter what. If they fought over it, it's because she was surprised. She'd never kick him out over something like that."

"I dunno, if you found out your son earned his place on his knees, would you want him around?"

"You've no call to say things like that! Mr. Sephiroth obviously cares about him; you can see that plain as day. Or at least you could if you'd set aside your prejudices for one moment."

Loud laughter from several people echoed up the stairs. "You're saying the Demon of Wutai is actually a queer? You're crazy, Greta! He's a real man, I guarantee it. But he's in the army and there aren't a lot of women around, you know?"

"Yeah, Strife pretty much looks like a woman anyways, and the only way that good for nothing little bastard could make SOLDIER is on his knees."

"They're right, Greta. Cloud'll say and do anything to get people on his side. Remember when he got Tifa hurt and told us all that he was just trying to help her? We never bought his bullshit, but other people who don't know him might. Whoring himself out for a cozy position isn't beyond him, trust me."

Something slammed on a counter and Greta spoke again, "You're all a bunch of backwater, bigoted rednecks. This bar is closed, get out."

"Oh, come on, Grets, we're just having fun."

"Really? Calling someone a whore when he's not even around to defend himself is fun? Well, you can have your fun elsewhere. I'm not obligated to serve you."

A lot of angry shouting followed that announcement; it sounded like Greta was gathering up everyone's glasses, whether they still had drinks in them or not. Someone protested feebly that he hadn't said anything, but Greta said she didn't care; she was sick and tired of dealing with people and was going to bed, so get the hell out.

Sephiroth listened to Greta shoving people out the door while he trembled with rage. He wanted to go downstairs. He wanted to tell them he loved Cloud more than anything before he snapped their pathetic human necks. But he couldn't. Cloud would be upset if he did that. He'd probably be upset even if Sephiroth just went down and yelled at them. He didn't like making a big scene; Sephiroth knew that well. So he sat, and he trembled, and he tried not to let the fury overwhelm him.

He was concentrating so hard on staying calm that he didn't notice the footsteps on the stairs, and only realized someone was there when Mrs. Guptar stopped right in front of him, looking horrified.

"You heard all that, didn't you, Mr. Sephiroth?"

"Yes. I did," Sephiroth spat out.

"I'm so sorry, I—"

"I don't want to hear it. Cloud is _not_ my whore." Sephiroth stood quickly, which startled Mrs. Guptar, and she stumbled back a few paces in fear. He knew that she had been defending them, but he was too angry to care. He stormed back to his room and barely caught the door in time to keep it from banging after he tried to slam it closed. Instead, he shut it quietly and crawled back into the bed with Cloud.

Cloud seemed to notice he was there, even in his sleep, and snuggled into his arms. Sephiroth lay there, stroking Cloud's hair and silently seething for the remainder of the night. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Why couldn't people just let them be happy? Why did they always have to butt in on things that were none of their business? Alde should have been happy for Cloud. And the rest of the townspeople shouldn't have cared at all.

 _It's because they're human._ A feminine voice echoed through his mind. _Humans are pathetic creatures, my son. They should all die._

***

"Cloud," Sephiroth sat on the edge of the bed as he watched Cloud finish getting ready to go, "I overheard some people talking last night. They know about us."

Cloud sighed and sat down next to him while he tied his bootlaces. "Let me guess, they were just chock-full of lovely things to say."

"Mrs. Guptar was, actually. Or at least she tried to defend you."

"Care to place bets on how quickly the bed story got out?"

"Good point."

There was a knock on their door and Sephiroth got up to unlock it. Zack and Marcus were outside, holding trays piled with food.

"Hey, Seph, there're a lot of rumours flying around the dining room this morning," Zack said. "We figured having breakfast upstairs would be a lot less painful for everyone involved. _I_ could barely keep myself from going on a killing spree; you'd definitely fail."

Sephiroth nodded his understanding. "I managed last night, but you're probably right, if I hear one more person imply that Cloud's a whore, I'm going to snap." He opened the door wider and let the two men in; they set their trays down on the small table that decorated the room and they all gathered around.

"How ya holding up, Spiky?" Zack asked.

"I think I've had better weeks," Cloud said as he munched distractedly on a croissant.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, at least you didn't get the haunted room."

"Huh?"

"A boy in town told me about it. There's a portrait of a little girl in our room, but sometimes, when you look at it, the girl is gone."

"Oh, that." Cloud nodded in understanding, and Sephiroth laughed as Zack nearly fell out of his chair in surprise.

"'Oh, that,' he says. That's just great, so what's the story?"

Cloud just grinned at him. "What, and spoil the fun? That's one of our staple Seven Wonders; I can't go giving away the mystery."

"What are the Seven Wonders?" Sephiroth asked.

"A way to stave off boredom when visitors come. Kids will tell them seven rumours or mysteries about the town and see if the visitor can figure them out. If they do, they get a prize. Usually a cookie, but hey, it's what we've got. The disappearing girl is one of the best. I'll tell you the secret later, when Zack's not around."

"He~ey," Zack whined.

"Tell me too, Cloud," Marcus spoke up. "I'm too old to be bothered with running around, solving mysteries."

"Sure thing." Cloud snapped a mock salute with what was left of his croissant before shoving it in his mouth.

Zack and Marcus brought the trays back downstairs when they were finished, then came back up to get ready to head out. The plan was to go to the reactor today and see if they could determine the source of the problem. Sephiroth, Zack, and Marcus all huddled around Cloud as they went downstairs, blocking him off from people's views as much as they could. The dining room went silent again and Sephiroth gripped Cloud's hand tightly when someone muttered 'faggot' under his breath. They just needed to get out of town and away from everyone.

Cloud directed them to the path that would take them to the reactor. In front of a large mansion, a man carrying a camera stopped them.

"Can I get a picture of you, gentlemen? Something for the records to prove that the top SOLDIERs actually came to our town?"

Sephiroth just snarled and tried to brush past the man; he needed to get to the reactor. But Zack laid a hand on his arm. "It won't hurt to get our picture taken, Seph. Maybe show some good will towards the people here. It might help."

"Fine, but we're _all_ going to be in the picture." Sephiroth wrapped his arms around Cloud and pulled him close, glaring at the photographer and silently daring him to say something.

"Of course, sir, you can pose however you'd like." The man got his camera ready while the small group arranged themselves. Sephiroth had Cloud stand in front of him and he wrapped his arms around his chest and rested his chin on the top of Cloud's hood. Cloud was his and the townspeople would do well to have a permanent reminder. "Everyone ready? Cheese!"

The photographer thanked them and ran off to somewhere out of the cold.

"What is this place?" Zack asked, pointing at the mansion that had served as the backdrop for their picture.

"Shin-Ra owns it," Cloud replied. "There used to be a bunch of people living there until twenty years or so ago. It was the base for the experiments they did here until they all up and left one day. It's been abandoned ever since."

"Cool! It looks like it's haunted."

"I don't know if it's haunted, but there's a story about a vampire that lives there."

"Really? I wanna go see!"

"Haven't I told you that before? I swear I told someone about it, not too long ago."

"It wasn't me, but it sounds awesome. Let's go!"

"Later, Zack," Sephiroth said dryly. "We have work to do now."

Cloud led them past the mansion and up a winding path that made its way up the mountainside. They encountered some small monsters along the way, but nothing overly powerful. Sephiroth was pleased to see Cloud take out several entirely on his own. After about an hour of walking, Cloud came to a dead stop in front of a rope bridge that crossed a large gorge.

"Sorry, but there's no way we're crossing this," Cloud said. "It's too dangerous."

Sephiroth looked out at the bridge; it was covered in ice and enough snow was built up on it that he could barely make out the actual bridge. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm putting my 'expert in local geography' foot down. We can't cross it."

Sephiroth growled. Every step towards the reactor that he took felt like he was coming home. He needed to continue.

"There's another way," Cloud added. "Through the cave systems. It'll take longer, but we'll get there alive."

"Lead the way."

Cloud turned around and led them back the way they had come from. The buzzing that was sometimes a voice now screamed that Sephiroth was going the wrong way and Sephiroth barely kept himself from collapsing from the pain of it. _We're still coming._ He managed to think in what seemed like a loud voice. _We're going a different way._ The screaming quieted somewhat, as the voice seemed to consider it.

 _Come quickly, my son. I need you._

Great, Sephiroth thought, the voice in his head _needed_ him. Cloud turned off the path they had come on and led them into a small fissure in a cave wall.

"Sephiroth," Cloud interrupted his thoughts, "I know my way through here pretty well, but it's been a while. We need to go northwest, mostly, so if I start leading us off in some other direction for a long time, will you tell me?"

"Sure." Sephiroth looked around the small cave they were in and got his bearings.

"Are you okay? You look like you've got a headache."

"I'm fine. It's just a small one. Let's keep going, okay?"

Cloud nodded and headed off through a small tunnel to their left. The path twisted and turned, but Sephiroth didn't even need his internal compass to tell him which direction they were headed. If they started going the wrong way, the voice would start up again and Sephiroth would let Cloud know. They came across a large cave with a natural mako spring in it. Sephiroth had never seen one before, but he wasn't the only one fascinated by the glowing pool and sparkling walls. Cloud had to shriek at Zack not to touch it when the SOLDIER tried to stick his hand in the pool.

"It'll kill you, you idiot! Just because it's pretty doesn't mean you should touch it! Do you _want_ mako poisoning?"

"Sorry, Cloud. I didn't know." Zack pulled his hand back, looking disappointed.

"So this is a mako fountain," Marcus sounded awed. "It's so beautiful. I can't wait to tell my boy about it."

"Hey, Sephiroth," Cloud said, "How is it that materia allows us to use magic?"

"Didn't I ever tell you that?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, you never mentioned."

"Materia is condensed mako energy. Mako is the physical manifestation of the Lifestream, which contains the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients. We use that knowledge to harness the Planet's power and that's what we call magic."

"Huh," Zack said, "I never knew that."

"You're a SOLDIER First Class, Zack. How did you not know that?"

"I dunno, maybe I forgot. Shouldn't we keep going?"

"Yes, you're right. We've wasted enough time."

"Hey, Marcus." Cloud ran up to the sergeant and held out his hand. "You said you wanted to get a souvenir for your son? Solidified mako crystals are unique to these parts, I think. And if they're not unique, they're at least rare." He dumped a few sparkling rocks into Marcus's outstretched hand and smiled.

"Thanks, Cloud, he'll love them."

They exited the cavern and made good time through the rest of the caves. They came out into the daylight with the mako reactor looming almost directly overhead.

"Here we are," Cloud announced rather unnecessarily.

Sephiroth approached the massive staircase that would take them into the reactor with a slight feeling of trepidation. There was something wrong about this place, but at the same time, it felt like he was finally home. He climbed the steps and entered his code in the keypad by the door. The light flashed green and he heard the bolts sliding back. He pulled the heavy door open and muttered, "I'm home," under his breath.

 _Welcome home, my son. I've been waiting._ The voice resounded through Sephiroth's mind.

The others followed him in and through the entrance, into the main area. Cloud looked around in awe. "I've never been inside a reactor before, are they all like this? It's huge!"

"This one is pretty small compared to the ones in Midgar," Zack answered when Sephiroth didn't, "But it's the same basic design."

Sephiroth walked up the stairs between the rows of pods and examined the door at the top.

"JENOVA." Zack read the sign above the door out loud.

"Isn't that your mother's name, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth ignored Cloud and inspected the door. It was locked, but he could tell that whatever was calling to him was beyond it. He sighed, he could deal with that later, or maybe never, disembodied voices in his head weren't really something he wanted to deal with. And he had a job to do. He turned around and started examining the rows of pods until he found the one that was malfunctioning. Mako crystals had built up around the seams of several pods, signifying a leak.

"Zack, close the valve over there," Sephiroth instructed. "These must have been leaking into the surrounding water supply and causing the local animals to mutate." He jumped down and took a closer look. Closing the valve would solve the immediate problem, but he needed to find out why it broke in the first place. He peered in through the observation window on one of the pods. "Now I see… Hojo." Inside the pod was a grotesque monstrosity. It was difficult to tell what it had been originally, but underneath the claws, scales, wings, and tentacles, it had a vaguely humanoid shape.

"What is it?" Cloud came up behind Sephiroth and placed a hand on his arm.

"These pods condense and freeze mako energy. SOLDIERs are put in something similar when they're exposed to mako. But there's something else in these, look."

Cloud stepped up onto a small ledge that he could barely fit his foot on and Sephiroth held out a hand to help him balance while he peered through the window.

"Wh—what is this?"

"Normal members of SOLDIER are exposed to a moderate amount of mako, they're different, enhanced, but they're still human. But these, these have been exposed to far more than SOLDIERs."

"Are… are they people, Sephiroth? Who did this to them?"

"They _were_ people, but now, they're nothing more than monsters. Hojo made them. He studied the effect of high levels of mako exposure on living organisms."

"Can we help them?" Cloud's hand was trembling as he stepped down from his ledge. Zack and Marcus were peering in another pod; they looked appalled.

Sephiroth just laughed. "There's no helping monsters."

 _That's right, my son. But can you really call yourself a normal member of SOLDIER?_

Sephiroth stumbled and clutched at his head. "N—no…"

"Sephiroth? Sephiroth, what's wrong?"

 _You're more like those monsters than you'd like to believe. Imagine the human's face when he finds out what you really are. How you were created._

"Was I…?" Sephiroth drew Masamune and Cloud barely had time to dodge out of the way of his first swing. He cut into one of the pods and the mako began spilling out. "Was I created this way too? Am I the same as all these monsters?"

 _No, my beautiful son. You're better than them. So much better._

"Sephiroth, no!"

Sephiroth snarled and turned on Cloud, except Zack was standing in front of him now.

"Seph, calm down, man. You almost hit Cloud," Zack had his hand on the hilt of the Buster Sword as he spoke.

"I always knew that I was different. I was always stronger, faster, smarter than everyone else. But I didn't think… not like this…"

There was a sudden hissing noise from behind where Cloud was standing and one of the pods exploded. The front half fell forwards and with it came a half-formed _thing_ that tried to drag itself across the floor. Without thinking, Sephiroth reached over and pulled Cloud out of its path. The thing didn't make it very far, though, before it twitched painfully and began to dissolve.

"That was fucked up," Zack stated the obvious.

"Am I… human?"

"Of course you are!" _Of course not!_ Cloud and the voice shouted at once.

Sephiroth stumbled back a couple paces, confused. He didn't know who to listen to. But… Cloud was right there. Cloud wouldn't lie to him. He clutched his head and doubled over as the voice shrieked in protest and Cloud rushed forwards.

"Sephiroth! Sephiroth, are you okay?" Cloud reached out and gently touched the sides of his head. "Are you in pain? Please, tell me what's wrong."

"I—My head…" Sephiroth dropped to his knees and Cloud cradled his head, gently rubbing his temples.

"Does that help? Try taking some deep breaths."

"Yeah, that helps, Cloud. Thank you." It _did_ help. The voice wasn't nearly as piercing when Cloud was touching him.

"We need to get out of here, Zack," Cloud looked up from where he was crouched next to Sephiroth.

"Yeah, but how? Seph doesn't look like he's in any sort of shape to go anywhere."

"Maybe we can fashion a litter of some sort," Marcus spoke up for the first time since they had seen what was in the pods. "Because you're right, we _need_ to go. This place is obviously bad news."

"I can walk," Sephiroth said. "Cloud, if I carry you, will you keep doing that?"

"I—" Cloud glanced back at the two men standing behind him. "Yeah, I can do that. Are you sure you're okay to walk?"

"I'm sure. Let's go, I need some sleep." Sephiroth pulled Cloud close to him, so he was balanced on his right hip and stood. He got Cloud adjusted into a comfortable position so he could keep him balanced and hold his sword at the same time, and so Cloud could continue his massage. He noticed that Cloud was blushing furiously; it had to be embarrassing for him, but it really did help, so he was grateful that Cloud was willing to do that for him. "Thank you," he whispered in Cloud's ear.

***

Cloud buried his face in Sephiroth's neck as he massaged Sephiroth's temples on the way out of the reactor. This was one step short of being absolutely humiliating, but it didn't matter; Sephiroth needed him to do this right now. And he was certain that neither Zack nor Marcus would tease him about it. Sephiroth had been acting downright scary in there; anything that could calm him down was worth it.

When they reached the entrance to the caves, Cloud felt sufficiently over his embarrassment that he was able to raise his head and give directions from his perch. He noticed that Sephiroth seemed to be in more pain than before as they made their way back to Nibelheim. But he still managed to fight a number of monsters, even unbalanced as he was with Cloud on his hip. It wasn't until the made it out of the mountains and were walking down the path towards town, however, that the pain stitched across Sephiroth's face finally seemed to lessen.

At the town gates, Sephiroth stopped. "I'll let you down here, Cloud."

"Are you sure? I don't mind if you still need me."

"I'm sure." Sephiroth lowered him to the ground with what felt like a bit of reluctance. "I don't want to cause an even bigger fuss than what we've already got going on."

Cloud nodded, grateful for that. "I'll give you a proper massage after we've eaten."

"We'll bring the food up to your room again," Zack said. "No reason to subject ourselves to eating downstairs."

Sephiroth nodded and the three men formed their protective wall around Cloud again, almost automatically. It was heartening to know that he really did have people who cared enough about him to do something like that for him. Even if it was a simple gesture, it made him feel worlds better about walking back into a town where almost everyone hated him. He held Sephiroth's hand and bravely stepped forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UrpleSquirrel hauled me kicking, screaming, and crying through this chapter and the next (and the one after that, too). They probably wouldn't have gotten written if it hadn't been for her, so I'd like to give her a huge thank you and lots of hugs and kisses. You're the best! If she hadn't coaxed me into writing, the chapters would have gone something like: ~woosh woosh woosh~ Bad Stuff Happens ~woosh woosh woosh~ (The wooshes are the time passing sound effects.) Credit also goes to her for coming up with a good chunk of the lines when the townspeople were talking about Cloud.


	4. Chapter 4

Sephiroth lay awake for the third night in a row, just watching Cloud sleep. He was still fuming over some of the comments he had heard when they walked through town. How dare they say such vicious things about Cloud? When Cloud was the first person who ever loved him for being him.

 _It's because they're human. All humans are like that. They can't help it._

 _But… Cloud's human too, and he's not like that,_ Sephiroth thought back.

 _He's deceiving you. He will betray you, like he betrayed me. They all betrayed me, my son. We are the only ones who will never turn on each other. We are the only ones who deserve to live._

 _But Cloud loves me. And I love him._

 _It's a lie. He's just using you, like they said. He'll get what he wants from you and then he'll cast you aside. It's his nature. Only I love you, my son._

 _You keep calling me your son, but my mother is dead. Who are you?_

 _They lied to you, my beautiful son. Go to the mansion, look in the basement. You'll find your answers there. Go now, unless you want to live in ignorance for the rest of your life, being mocked by the humans._

The voice faded away and Sephiroth was left pondering what it had said. It wasn't a lie that Cloud loved him; he was certain of that. But he _did_ want to know about his past and where he came from. If there was a possibility that the mansion held the answers, he needed to check. Besides, maybe if he did what the voice wanted, it would let him sleep. He softly kissed Cloud's temple before quietly sliding out of bed and bundling the blankets around Cloud again. He really didn't want to leave Cloud, yet again, in the middle of the night, but he wanted to get this over with. Hopefully he could be back before Cloud ever realized he was gone.

***

The room was cold when Cloud woke up and he could tell in an instant that Sephiroth had left him alone again. He pulled the blankets tightly around himself and scurried over to the stove and quickly got it going again. While he was waiting for the stove to warm up, he tried calling Sephiroth, but there was no signal. When the room was warm enough to brave coming out from under the covers, Cloud quickly showered and dressed, then went to knock on Zack and Marcus's door.

"Have you seen Sephiroth this morning?" he asked when Zack opened the door with bleary eyes.

"No, why?"

"He's not here. I think he left a while ago; the stove was completely out. He would have put more wood in when he went out."

"Where the hell would he go in the dead of night?" Zack asked no one in particular. "He's been acting so fucking strange. How about you go take a look for him, and I'll get dressed and then come help you."

"Okay." Cloud nodded and rushed off down the stairs.

The first person he saw was Mrs. Guptar, getting the coffee ready for the morning rush. "Excuse me, Mrs. Guptar? Have you seen Sephiroth by any chance?"

She turned to him, looking startled. "I haven't, hon. Is he not upstairs?"

Cloud just shook his head and started putting on his winter gear. "No, ma'am, he's not. Thanks. If you see him, could you tell him that I'm looking for him?"

"Of course I can, dear. Here, take a bagel with you if you're going out before you eat."

"Thank you." Cloud shoved the bagel in his mouth and finished pulling on his boots. He hurried out the door and glanced around the snow-covered town. Where would Sephiroth have gone? He sighed, there was no help for it; unless he wanted to search the entire town, he'd have to ask people.

He spotted Johnny, who had been a part of Tifa's gang when they were kids, doing something by the water tower. "Hey, Johnny, have you seen General Sephiroth this morning?" Cloud asked as humbly as he could.

"Aww, missing your boyfriend, Cloudy? I guess your ass probably gets lonely without him."

"Have you seen him or not, Johnny?"

"Hey, is it true that you were experimented on and got turned into a woman by accident?"

"Fuck you, too, Johnny." Cloud spat at his feet and turned to look for someone else to ask. He had similar luck with the baker and his apprentice, although the apprentice was slightly more graphic than Johnny with his taunting. And when he tried to ask his mom's friend, Ingrid, she simply turned around and walked back the way she had come.

Cloud was standing in the middle of the town square, fighting back tears, when Zack found him. "Any luck?"

Cloud shook his head. "No one'll tell me, even if they do know. Guess that's the problem with being a whore."

"Cloud..." Zack reached out to touch him, but Cloud jerked away. "Don't talk like that. You know it's not true, no matter what they say. Why don't you go back to the inn, get some breakfast and warm up, while I ask around?"

Cloud nodded mutely and headed off. Zack would have better luck without him. He went back to the inn and tucked himself away at one of the corner tables. Mrs. Guptar brought over some breakfast for him and patted his hand in a motherly way. He picked at his meal while listening to himself being discussed by people who made no attempt to be discreet about it. It would be okay, he told himself. Zack would find Sephiroth, and then they could all go home and forget that they ever came to this hellhole.

He waited for over two hours for Zack to return. Marcus joined him in his corner eventually, but Cloud had nothing to say and they ended up sitting in silence, sipping coffee. Having Marcus there, though, was infinitely better than being alone. Finally, Zack came through the door in a flurry of snow and cursing. Zack shucked his coat and boots and spotted Cloud in the corner.

"Spike, let's go upstairs, we need to talk."

There was a burst of laughter from one of the tables and a man Cloud didn't know commented as he passed. "Make sure you do a good job, y'hear, boy? We'd hate for SOLDIER to be disappointed in the town's best whore."

Cloud just ignored him, but Zack rounded on him and punched the man hard enough to knock him off his chair and into the table. He grabbed Cloud's arm and hauled him up the stairs before anyone had a chance to react.

"I've decided that I'm not responding to anyone else's 'comments'," Zack said angrily as he shut the door. "I'm just punching. Eventually, they'll either learn or their jaws will all be broken and they won't be able to talk."

"You don't have to do that," Cloud muttered.

"Like hell I don't, have you been putting up with that shit all morning? Why didn't you come upstairs?"

Cloud shrugged. "I hoped you'd be back quicker than you were. Did you find him?"

"Yeah, I did." Zack sat down at the table and gestured for Cloud to do the same. "That photographer guy who took our picture was out getting some night shots and he saw Seph going into that mansion. I found him holed up in a library in the basement."

"What's he doing?"

"Researching his past, apparently. He's going through old journals and documents. He said something about Jenova being an organism found in a… geological something-or-other that was like two thousand years old and that it was confirmed that it was an 'Ancient'. He also said something about the Jenova Project, but he didn't elaborate. He's acting kind of strange, but he does that sometimes."

"I guess. Was he still researching? Is that why he didn't come back?"

"Yeah, he wasn't being too talkative, so I figured I should just let him look for whatever he's trying to find out and come tell you what's up. Do you want me to take you to him? I can't let you go there by yourself; there are a bunch of things wandering around that mansion. No vampires that I saw, though."

"Yeah, maybe we should let him be for a while longer, then if he's not back by mid-afternoon, could you take me?"

"Sure, that's a good plan. Poor guy deserves to know where he comes from, especially after yesterday. Although I don't know where he was getting those ideas from. Why would he just randomly ask if he's human?"

"He's been… distracted sometimes, I've noticed. He stares off into space and doesn't hear me right away when I talk to him. It's like he's listening to something that only he can hear."

"Maybe he's hearing voices."

"Don't joke, Zack. It's not funny."

"Sorry, Cloud, I'm just trying to lighten things up a bit. It'll be all right, don't worry."

***

Sephiroth pulled another book off the shelf and opened it. This one was a journal written by Gast. His writing had far more useful information in it than Hojo's ever did, so Sephiroth began pouring through the text, devouring as much of the information as he could. A knock at the door interrupted him. "Who is it?" he asked distractedly.

"It's me, Sephiroth." Cloud opened the door to the reading room with a loud creak that grated at Sephiroth's ears. "I brought you some dinner, you're probably starving by now. I can't imagine there's a whole lot that's still edible in here."

 _Traitor._

"Traitor," Sephiroth repeated Mother's word, although quietly enough that Cloud didn't hear it.

"What are you looking at?" Cloud set a bag on the corner of the desk and came around to peer over his shoulder.

"Nothing, Cloud. I'm busy. I'll be back at the inn later."

"Zack said you were researching about your past. Have you found anything helpful?"

"Yes, I have. Now, if you don't mind, I need some more time."

 _Just kill him, my son. He's a traitor; he deserves to die._

"I can't do that," Sephiroth said.

"Can't do what?"

"I can't… nothing. Go, Cloud."

"Not until you've eaten something." Cloud pulled a sandwich out of the bag and held it out to Sephiroth.

"I'm not hungry!" Sephiroth grabbed the sandwich out of Cloud's hand and threw it across the room.

"Sephiroth! What's wrong with you?"

"Everything all right in here?" Zack poked his head through the doorway.

"Yes, we're fine," Cloud answered shakily.

"All right, I'm right outside if you need me." Zack shut the door again.

"What's wrong, Sephiroth?" Cloud crouched by Sephiroth's side and laid a hand on his knee. "You're not acting like yourself."

"Perhaps that's because you've never known who I really am, traitor," Sephiroth sneered.

"Traitor?" Cloud sounded hurt, but Mother's voice shouted down the part of Sephiroth that cared.

"You ignorant traitor. Fine, if you want to know so badly, I'll tell you." Sephiroth picked up one of Gast's earliest journals and flipped it open. "The planet originally belonged to the Cetra."

"What are the Cetra?"

 _See? He doesn't even know what we are! How cruel, to betray us, and then forget about us._

"Hmph, it figures that you wouldn't know, human. They were an itinerant race. They would migrate to a planet, settle it, and then move on. It was believed that at the end of their long, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness." Sephiroth slammed that book shut and grabbed the next one. "But this is where you come in, my dear Cloud. You see, there were those that disliked the journey. They claimed that it was too difficult and not worth it. They were weak. They stopped migrating and decided to remain on this planet. They took everything that the Cetra and the planet had made and they didn't give a single thing in return!" Sephiroth looked up and sneered at Cloud. "Those are your ancestors."

"Sephiroth…" Cloud began, but Sephiroth cut him off.

"Then, two thousand years ago, disaster struck the planet. A calamity came from the heavens and tried to destroy everything. The Cetra and the planet banded together to fight the calamity, but the humans opposed them. They got in the way and the planet had to sacrifice the lives of the Cetra to save itself and destroy the calamity. The humans, of course, survived and moved on without a care."

"That's terrible, Sephiroth. But what does something that happened thousands of years ago have to do with us?"

 _Such sweet lies that flow off his tongue. He thinks our pain is terrible._

"Jenova."

"Like the name written in the reactor? Or your mom?"

"Both. Jenova is a Cetra. She was found in the Northern Crater and brought here. She's my mother."

"How is that possible, Sephiroth? If she was found, she was probably dead, right? How could she be your mother?"

"What would you know? You're just a human," Sephiroth snapped at Cloud and pushed him away. "You betrayed her." He turned away from the scared look in Cloud's eyes and went back to the books.

 _That's right, my son. He should be scared. You're a god and gods punish the wicked._

" _I_ betrayed her? Sephiroth, I'm seventeen years old and this happened, what? Two thousand years ago? How could _I_ have betrayed her?"

"You're human. You carry the guilt of your ancestors. I need to take revenge for her."

"Sephiroth, listen to yourself!" Cloud's voice was trembling as he spoke. "Does anything you're saying make sense?"

"Of course it does, she explained everything."

"She? Sephiroth," Cloud's voice shook just a little bit more, "Who explained it to you? And how?"

"Mother did. I can hear her."

"Can—can you hear her right now?"

"Of course."

"What's she saying, Sephiroth?"

 _It's a shame he can't hear me. I would tell him all about how we'll destroy this planet, starting with him._

"No! I can't do that!"

 _Of course you can. You have to. I am your mother._

"But I need Cloud."

 _Don't be ridiculous! You're a god. We need no one but each other. Together, we'll take our revenge for everything that's been done to us._

"No, I _need_ him. I _love_ him."

 _That's enough, Sephiroth. Kill the boy. Now, before he causes any more problems._

"Sephiroth! What's happening? Please, talk to me." Cloud had come over to his side again.

"Cloud." Zack stuck his head through the door again. "Do you need help?"

Sephiroth stood involuntarily and he panicked; could Jenova control his body? He needed Cloud to go, now, before Mother made him hurt him, so he said the first thing that came to his mind that might make him go away. "Get away! You don't even care about me. You're just using me to get ahead!"

The door to the reading room banged all the way open and Zack barrelled in before either of them could react. He stormed over to Sephiroth and slapped him, as hard as possible, across the face.

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

Sephiroth reeled as he brought his hand up to touch his face. That _hurt_. He had never been slapped before. Where had Zack even come from? The slap had brought his head back down from wherever it had been and he realized exactly what he had said as Zack continued shouting.

"Why would you say something like that? Are you _trying_ to ruin the best thing in your life? You know _damn_ well it's not true, so are you just trying to hurt him? If so, you've done a good job. Congratu-fucking-lations."

Sephiroth stood there, stunned, with all thoughts of Mother driven straight out of his mind by the stinging pain on his cheek. "I—I—I just wanted him to go away."

"Why the hell would you want him to go away? He's trying to _help_ you, as much as you don't deserve it. Can you honestly tell me that you don't think you need help when you've locked yourself in a basement and are rambling about how humanity betrayed you?"

"I—I didn't mean—I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me, you fucking moron!" Zack pointed violently at Cloud. "Tell him!"

Sephiroth looked up at Cloud and saw tears streaming down his face. When he saw Sephiroth looking at him, Cloud's legs suddenly gave out and he collapsed on the floor, sobbing.

"Cloud! Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." Sephiroth rushed over and threw himself down beside Cloud and pulled his huddled form into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. I know you love me, I _know_. And I love you too. Please, I'm sorry." He was certain that he had never felt like such a complete tool in his entire life. He wouldn't be surprised if Cloud never forgave him. But Cloud's smaller arms wrapped around him and his hands twisted through Sephiroth's hair. Cloud clung to him and sobbed his heart out. Sephiroth stroked Cloud's hair while he murmured more apologies and reassurances and looked up at Zack for help.

Zack just shrugged. "Let him cry, Seph. Just let him get it all out."

It took a long time for Cloud to get it all out and Sephiroth wasn't sure if he felt more helpless now, or when Cloud was being tortured. The only thing he could do now was hold Cloud, and ignore Mothe—Jenova screaming at him. He couldn't believe he had made Cloud cry; he never, _ever_ wanted to do that again. Listening to Jenova was what had brought it about, so he resolved, right then and there, to never listen to her again. After all, apparently not everyone did what their mothers told them. And what was the point of being a god if he couldn't be with the person he loved more than anyone else? What was the point of getting revenge if it made Cloud cry? Jenova was shrieking something about Sephiroth betraying her and he shrugged minutely.

 _If I've got to betray someone, it's not going to be Cloud._ With that, he shut Jenova out and turned all his attention to his lover in his arms.

Eventually, Cloud gave one final shuddering sob and sniffled loudly a few times. "I'm sorry," Cloud said hoarsely. "I just—everything—it was all too much."

"Hey, it's okay, Spike. You've had a shitty few days and everything's been building up. General Asshole just had to go and toss one more green on the chocobo's back."

"I'm sorry, Cloud, I really am. I didn't mean it. It was just a stupid, hurtful thing to say and it was only on my mind because of what everyone's been saying. I _don't_ believe it. Not for one second."

Cloud just nodded and Sephiroth picked him up and stood. Zack handed him Cloud's coat and Sephiroth did his best to wrap it around him. "Let's go back to the inn, okay? We'll get some rest and think about what we're going to do."

Cloud continued to cling to Sephiroth, showing no desire to get down, as Zack led them through the winding passages of the basement. Zack took care of all the monsters they encountered, leaving Sephiroth's other hand free to stroke Cloud's hair and rub his back. When they got out of the mansion, Sephiroth paused.

"Do you want me to put you down before we go into town?"

Cloud shook his head vehemently. "No. Let them think what they want."

Sephiroth nodded and the three made their way through town to the inn. Zack opened the door for them and Sephiroth stopped in the foyer and turned to face everyone's stares. It must have been dinnertime and the dining room was packed full of townspeople.

"If even _one_ of you ignorant bastards says _anything_ to him, I'll burn this town to the ground with everyone in it."

***

Sephiroth had Zack get Marcus and meet him and Cloud in their room. He held Cloud on his lap and petted his hair soothingly; it was as much for his own benefit as it was for Cloud's, however. He wanted to keep contact with Cloud, to reassure Cloud that he was loved, but mostly, Sephiroth felt better when he was holding him. It was far easier to ignore Mo—Jenova when he had his reason for ignoring her in his arms. Although, now that he thought about it, he wondered why it he hadn't been a bit more bothered by hearing a voice in his head. He was well aware that such things aren't normal, but it hadn't fazed him at all. Perhaps... perhaps Jenova had affected him more than he had thought. There was a soft knock at the door and Zack opened it, with Marcus following. Sephiroth motioned for them to sit down.

"Care to tell us exactly what happened back there, Seph?" Zack sat with his arms crossed in front of him. He still looked extremely pissed off.

Sephiroth nodded and took a deep breath, wondering where to start. "It began almost as soon as we arrived in town…"

Sephiroth left nothing out. He told them about the buzzing that had turned into meanings and feelings, which then turned into words. Words that compelled him, words that filled him with inexplicable rage. He explained about how Jenova claimed to be his mother, how she told him that she was in pain, and that he needed to take revenge on the humans for her. He told them about the journals he had read, and how he had learned how he was created. He was a science experiment, meant to recreate the last Ancient.

"Some… some of what she said was appealing. She told me that I was meant to be a god. That I could rule this planet. Who wouldn't want that? She said that I could take revenge on the people who hurt me. Hojo tortured me in the name of science for years, I mean, wouldn't you want revenge, if you had the opportunity?" Sephiroth looked up at Zack pleadingly.

"Yeah, man. I'd gladly chop Hojo into mincemeat for everything he's done to you."

Cloud nodded his head as well, but didn't say anything.

"But then… Cloud annoyed her." Sephiroth clutched Cloud even closer to him and kissed the top of his head several times before he continued. "She didn't like him at all. He distracted me from her. She—she wanted me to kill him first. To get him out of the way. I couldn't. There's no way I could do that." Sephiroth felt Cloud's fists tighten in his hair and Sephiroth hugged him tightly. "I'd never hurt you, Cloud. _Never_."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Seph, but, um, what are we going to do about this? You've got a voice in your head, telling you to take revenge on humanity, and the only thing stopping you is your boyfriend? Sorry, but that doesn't seem like the most failsafe of plans. What if you have a fight?"

"It's easy," Marcus spoke up, "This Jenova thing is obviously not good, so why don't we just destroy it and be done with it. It seems like it's kept at the reactor, right? Let's just go there and kill the hell out of it."

"I like the way you think, Sarge!" Zack clapped Marcus on the shoulder.

"It's just the obvious solution. We're soldiers, Jenova is an enemy. Soldiers kill their enemies."

Sephiroth attempted to consider the idea despite the shrieking that was filling his mind. "I know she's not good, but… she's my mo—"

"Sephiroth," Cloud finally spoke, although his voice was still hoarse, "She's not your mother. No matter what the journals say and no matter what she says, she's not your mother. Maybe she's genetically your parent, like Hojo is, but that doesn't mean she's a good one. And it doesn't mean you have to consider her your mother. A _real_ mother would never do something like this. She's hurting you, isn't she? Because you're not doing what she wants?"

Sephiroth nodded slowly.

"We have to destroy her, Sephiroth, before she can influence you again. Before she hurts you even more."

"It wants you to kill Cloud, Seph," Zack reminded him, "You don't want that. You want Cloud alive, you love him very much."

"Yes," Sephiroth said quietly, "She doesn't love me, not really."

"So…" Zack paused, looking hopeful. "Do we have a plan of action? Do we set sail at dawn on our heroic journey to kill the wicked witch?"

"Yes." Sephiroth buried his face in Cloud's hair; ashamed of how his voice shook when he spoke. He knew he shouldn't be upset by this, but…

"Sephiroth." Cloud shifted and began stroking Sephiroth's head now. "Please don't be sad. Zack and Aerith and Tseng and I, _we're_ your family. A real family loves each other, just like we do. You don't need her. Maybe… maybe she's not your real mother and maybe one day we can find out who your real mom was. But even if we can't, you're not alone. Please remember that. You've got a lot of people who love and care about you."

Sephiroth looked at Cloud and felt wetness in the corners of his eyes. "I—I'm not alone."


	5. Chapter 5

Silence fell over the small group as they mulled over what had been discussed. Sephiroth buried his face in Cloud's hair and let his own hair fall over the sides of his face. Hopefully no one would see the few tears that were falling silently down his cheeks. Crying simply wasn't something that General Sephiroth did. He couldn't even remember the last time he had cried.

The sound of a PHS ringing caused him to jump and he nearly dropped Cloud on the floor in surprise. How long had it been since they had heard their phones ring? Even Zack looked startled as he rummaged through his pockets.

"Hello? Zack here. Aerith? Is that you? I can barely hear you, speak up." Zack stood and started walking around the room, trying to get a stronger signal. "Wait, slow down, I can't understand you. Tseng? What about him? Wait, are you saying we're in danger? Or Tseng? Sephiroth? Woah, calm down, everything's fine here, we've got it all under control. We're going to finish up the mission tomorrow and come home. Either tomorrow or the next day. What? I can't hear you. Did you say Cloud?" Zack went over to the window and leaned out. "What about Cloud? He's fine, he's right here. Dammit! I can't hear you, Aerith! Aerith? Aerith?" Zack took the phone away from his ear and looked at it. "Shit, the signal's gone."

"What did she say, Zack?" Sephiroth pulled out his own PHS to check if it had a signal; there was nothing. "What did she say about Cloud?"

"I don't know!" Zack banged on the buttons on his PHS in frustration. "She kept breaking up. She said something about Tseng and danger. I _think_ she said that we're in danger, but I'm pretty sure we already knew that. And I heard Cloud a bunch of times, but I don't know what she was saying. Shit!"

"I'll go downstairs and see if we can use the inn's phone." Cloud pushed himself out of Sephiroth's lap.

"I'll come with you," Sephiroth said, "We should try phoning Tseng. He probably knows more than Aerith."

Sephiroth followed Cloud down the stairs while Zack kept trying Aerith's number. He felt a surge of pride as Cloud marched straight up to Mr. Guptar without a sideways glance at anyone in the bar.

"We need to use the phone," Cloud said with authority, before grabbing the receiver and handing it to Sephiroth. He was half way through dialling Tseng's number when Sephiroth tapped him on the shoulder.

"There's no dial tone."

"Lines've been down for a few days now," Mr. Guptar explained with a nervous glance at Sephiroth. "It's the same all over town. Don't know when someone's gonna get out to fix 'em. Sorry."

"I see, thank you." Sephiroth kept his hand on Cloud's shoulder as he propelled him back up the stairs.

They re-entered their room to see Zack tossing his PHS down on the bed with a groan of frustration.

"Any luck?" Zack asked.

"No, the lines are down." Sephiroth sat on the bed and pulled Cloud back into his lap, holding him tightly.

"Don't worry, Seph."

"I'm not worried."

"Like hell you're not; Cloud can barely breath, you're squeezing him so tight."

"I—"

"You're not squeezing too tight," Cloud interrupted and snuggled even closer, shutting his eyes.

"Good to know." Zack patted Cloud's head and flopped into a chair. "Look, Seph, we already knew we were in danger, but we know what the danger is. All we have to do is fry a crazy bitch tomorrow and we're home free."

"I hope so..." Sephiroth stroked Cloud's hair and listened to his breathing slowly even out. Cloud must have been exhausted. "Why would Aerith mention Cloud specifically?"

"Dunno, I could barely make anything out, there was a ton of feedback. She was probably just asking how he was. Nothing to worry about."

"Right."

"So tonight, Marcus and I were thinking that we'd stay in here and keep watch. Not that we don't trust you, but you're obviously good at sneaking out without Cloud noticing. I don't want to have to haul you out of a basement again."

"I understand."

"So, you and Cloud get some sleep. No offense, but you really look like you need it."

Sephiroth nodded; he was beyond tired, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep when Jenova was still screaming at him. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try, so he lay down with Cloud in his arms and pulled the blanket over them. It didn't matter that they were both still dressed, he was too tired to care.

Still, despite his exhaustion, he couldn't sleep. Jenova was screaming to loudly and he couldn't stop worrying about the garbled warning they had gotten. All the evidence so far pointed towards this mission being a setup. He was sure that it wasn't random chance that he, specifically, was sent to the town where his mother was kept. The warning made that all the more likely. And what if there was more to it? Maybe they weren't as safe as they thought they were. The thoughts kept rolling through his mind until, finally, he managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.

***

Cloud woke in the morning feeling a lot better than he had in the past few days. His outburst last night had gotten all the tension and anger out and it felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. And he was still being held in Sephiroth's strong arms, that was a relief. Waking up without him again and again, when everything was going to shit, had been terrifying. Cloud cracked open his eyes and spotted Zack leaning back in a chair against the door. Marcus was sleeping in the second bed. Zack saw him looking and winked.

"Hey, Spiky. Feeling better?" he whispered.

Cloud nodded slowly, not wanting to disturb Sephiroth if he was actually sleeping.

Zack came over and sat on the floor next to the bed. "Nervous about today?"

"Yeah, a bit. If we mess this up, I think we're going to be in a lot of trouble."

"I think you're right. Still, there's no reason why we can't pull it off. A few Firagas and she'll be toast."

"Did Sephiroth sleep much last night? Did you notice?"

"It took a while, but he fell asleep eventually."

"Good, I think he needed it."

"No kidding. I really don't want to wake him up, but we should get going soon. The faster we get this over with, the better we'll all feel, I think. Are... are you sure you're okay after what he said yesterday?"

"I—Yeah, I mean, I know he didn't mean it. It just... hurt. On top of everything else, and I was so scared about all the other things he was saying... I—I'm okay, though. And you're right, we need to get this done."

"All right." Zack reached out and ruffled Cloud's hair, then stood up shouting, "Up and at 'em, boys! We've got a big day today!"

***

Sephiroth's face was looking more and more pinched as they made their way through the caves. It seemed that the closer he was to the reactor, the more Jenova affected him. About halfway there, Cloud was beginning to really worry that Sephiroth would start listening to what she was saying again. He sighed; it had worked last time.

"Sephiroth, will you carry me?" Cloud couldn't believe he had just said that, but what had to be done, had to be done. He was sure that Zack and Marcus would understand.

"What?" Sephiroth looked at him in surprise.

"I'm tired and my hand hurts a lot. Please, will you carry me?"

"Your hand hurts?" Sephiroth stooped to pick Cloud up as he spoke.

"Yeah," he said, settling himself into a comfortable position, "I think the cold bothers it." At least it wasn't a lie, it really had been hurting a lot more since he got here. Although, wanting to be carried _because_ it hurt seemed like a bit of a stretch.

"Sorry, we'll get this done and go home, okay?"

"Okay." Cloud began stroking Sephiroth's hair and pressing tiny kisses to his neck. Anything that would distract Sephiroth from Jenova and keep him on track was worth it; though he blushed when Zack gave him a 'thumbs up' sign. "Maybe... maybe after we're done with this, could we go back and talk to my mom again? I really don't want to leave things they way they are now."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm sure she just needed some time to get used to it. And if she doesn't want to listen, we can go, and I can at least say that I tried."

"All right." Sephiroth turned his head and kissed Cloud's forehead. "We'll try to work it out."

"Besides, I need to get the rest of that wood chopped. I don't want her to freeze just because we're fighting."

"We can do that while you guys go talk to her, Cloud," Zack piped up and Marcus nodded his agreement.

"Thanks, guys."

Sephiroth was paying far more attention to Cloud than to anything else by the time they got to the reactor and headed up the long staircase. They ignored the pods and went straight for the door with JENOVA written overhead. Cloud stopped his gentle tugging on Sephiroth's hair long enough to adjust his armlet. It had taken a long time to master the Fire materia that was in it, but Sephiroth had been right; it _did_ feel better to know that he was going to be blasting the thing that was trying to hurt his lover with something that he had worked for. He was certain that the hours he and Sephiroth had spent together, training with it, would make the spells even more powerful in this case.

"I love you," he whispered in Sephiroth's ear as a bit of final encouragement before they opened the door.

"I love you, too."

"And I love you all, now move out of the way." Zack stepped up to the door and sliced through it with the Buster Sword. "Shall we?"

The newly created entrance opened into a cavernous room with massive tubes running from the walls up to a platform at the back. There was a narrow catwalk leading to the platform that went across a vast reservoir of mako.

"That's where she is," Sephiroth said, with a slightly awed tone to his voice.

Cloud was feeling pretty awed himself, so he wasn't sure if it was just the size of the room, or Jenova that was making Sephiroth sound like that. Either way, Cloud hugged Sephiroth tightly and whispered, "I love you," a few more times.

"I know, Cloud. Don't worry, I'm not giving you up." Sephiroth kissed him softly, and then walked boldly across the catwalk with Zack and Marcus taking up the rear.

On the platform, there was a large metal statue of a strange looking woman. JENOVA and a few numbers were written on a placard at the statue's feet.

"She's behind it. I can feel her."

"Step aside." Zack came up from behind. He returned his sword to his back and gripped the statue tightly. After a few moments of straining, the sound of twisting metal could be heard and the statue began to move. "Shit! This thing is heavy!"

"Do you need my help?" Sephiroth asked.

"No, you stay where you are. Be ready if anything jumps out at me." A few moments longer and Zack staggered back with the statue in his arms. Sparks flew from it as tubes were pulled out of their sockets. Apparently, it had been more than decoration. Zack tossed it aside to reveal Jenova, encased in a tube of mako. It was female, with white hair and blue skin. In the place of its legs were a bunch of large tentacles and it had no arms. The eyes that looked out at them from behind its hair were glowing red. It didn't appear to be alive, just going by its body, but those eyes were very much alive. And they looked angry.

"Plan?" Marcus asked.

"I smash the container and everyone hits it with Fire spells at the same time. That should cause the mako to catch and we should have a crispy critter. You've got those Fire Veils I gave you, right, Marcus?"

"Right here."

"Good, we'll all keep casting until we can't cast anymore, just to be on the safe side." Zack stepped up to the side of the pod and drew his sword. "Everybody ready? On the count of three. One, two—"

The sound of gunfire rang through Cloud's ears and he saw Marcus collapse and blood start to drip through the grate. He felt Sephiroth begin to turn before he was dropped, hard, on the platform. Sephiroth collapsed bonelessly next to him and he heard a shout from Zack and saw the flash of green light this time, before Zack collapsed as well.

Cloud pulled his sword out of its sheath as he scrambled over to Sephiroth's side. "SEPHIROTH! SEPHIROTH, WAKE UP!" Cloud shrieked in panic. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening.

"I'm afraid he won't be waking up for a while, Specimen C," Hojo's mocking voice echoed through the massive room and Cloud turned in horror. Hojo was surrounded by a dozen troopers with their guns levelled at Cloud.

"What did you do to him?" This was hopeless; he had no chance whatsoever. Even if he got a spell off, they'd gun him down before it ever reached them. He was _useless!_

"Remember when you were taken prisoner, Specimen? Something knocked Sephiroth out and you convinced him that I couldn't figure out what it was. I admit, it took a while, but fusing a Manipulate materia with Mystify isn't something that one immediately thinks of. And even that isn't the whole picture. I had no idea that it was even possible to merge something like Dream Power into materia."

Cloud had pulled Sephiroth's head into his lap while Hojo was talking, shaking him and trying to get him to wake up. He spared a glance for Marcus, lying of the floor with blood dripping through the grate into the mako below. He was dead, Cloud was certain of it. He felt tears running down his face; how had this happened? Why? Why would Hojo do this to them?

"Well, Specimen, that's all the magic I can use. I'm not sure how it would work on you, anyways, so we'll have to do this the less pleasant way."

Cloud felt something sharp stab into his thigh and the world immediately turned blurry and he felt his limbs grow heavy.

"Bring the specimen down to the lab, then toss the rest in the reactor. I don't need corpses," was the last thing Cloud heard before the world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! More awesomeness in the form of fanart! I was being a cranky bitch, so Sarah, a.k.a. Drowning Comic, rewarded me for it. Yay! (I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere. It might be: Be a bitch and people will give you things to shut you up.) Anyways, check out her kick ass pic based on chapter 28 here: [Snuggles!](http://drowning-comic.deviantart.com/#/d2v3cwq)

Reno was lounging in the front room of the safe house where he was on bodyguard duty for Aerith. This was a shit job, but at least he was still alive. He had been certain that he was a dead man after what he did. But Tseng had just roughed him up a bit and left him for a day in an interrogation room. When Tseng came back, he told Reno that he no longer worked for Shin-Ra; instead, he would answer only to Tseng. Probably for the rest of his life, but hey, at least it was a life. And it wasn't too bad; Tseng set him to guarding Aerith and Elmyra and told him that if he fucked up again, he was dead. It was easy enough; Hojo was too busy with Strife now, to bother with Aerith. And Aerith had healed all his injuries, so that was a bit of a bonus.

Screams suddenly broke the silence of the safe house and Reno leapt to his feet. Maybe he had thought too soon. He ran through to the kitchen where Aerith had been making dinner and found her collapsed on the floor, shrieking and clutching her head. He checked her over for injuries and, finding none, grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly.

"What happened?" he demanded. "What's wrong?"

"He's—he's—Lifestream—he's—"

"What the hell's wrong with you, Aerith?"

Elmyra came rushing in and shoved Reno away from her. "Go call Tseng!" she ordered.

Reno gladly obeyed. Hysterical women were not his forte.

"Calm down, sweetie, calm down." Elmyra was rubbing Aerith's back soothingly.

"I can't! He's—he's _dead!_ Zack's in the Lifestream!"

Reno dialled faster and prayed for Tseng to pick up quickly. When he heard the phone pick up he started talking immediately. "Something's wrong with Aerith. She suddenly started screaming and now she's saying Zack's in the Lifestream."

"I'm on my way," was the only answer he got before the phone disconnected.

"Should we sedate her?" Reno asked Elmyra, feeling helpless.

Elmyra just glared at him. "Go get some water. Aerith, calm down. You need to listen to what the planet's saying to you."

Elmyra rocked the small woman in her arms as Aerith sobbed hysterically. Reno stood by with a glass of water for ages until she finally calmed down enough to stop sobbing. Aerith sat on the floor in her mother's arms, hiccupping and staring blankly. Reno cautiously held the glass out to her, not wanting to set her off again. She took it with both hands and took several large gulps before handing it back again.

"Aerith," Elmyra said again, "Listen to the planet. What exactly is it saying?"

Aerith took on a more pensive look and seemed to concentrate hard for several moments. "He's—he's in the Lifestream, but it's weird. The planet is confused; his _body_ is in the Lifestream too. That's not supposed to happen.

"Did he fall in? I've heard of that happening before," Reno said. "They're not really dead until their minds get absorbed."

"I—I can feel Sephiroth too. Just faintly, but I'm sure he's there too. What could have happened?"

Reno shrugged. "Hojo. That's my best guess."

"I have to help them." Aerith stood with determination and wiped the tears from her face. "I _can_ help them. I need to go to the church."

***

Tseng sat in an unbroken pew while he watched Aerith meditate, feeling utterly helpless. She had been at it for two days now, only taking a few breaks to drink some water and eat a few bites of a sandwich. She said that she was trying to contact Zack, but was having trouble. The planet was upset about Sephiroth contaminating the Lifestream and she was having difficulties trying to convince it to not just destroy him.

Her plan was to direct their bodies towards Mideel, where there was a large, exposed mako pool. If she could make contact with them soon, she'd be able to keep their minds intact. Tseng shut his eyes and prayed that she'd be successful. They needed Sephiroth desperately if they were going to pull off this coup. Rufus was still trying to get all the funds they would need secured and there wasn't much they could do until then. Tseng didn't want to look too closely into what had happened in Nibelheim until they had a secure source of gil. Too much interest would arouse suspicion. For now, he would bide his time and hope that Aerith was successful.

***

Zack felt strange. Like he was drifting away in all directions at once. He opened his eyes and was met with a vast sea of green that completely surrounded him. Various shades of green and blue and yellow flowed around him in relaxing waves. It was nice and peaceful here, but oddly menacing at the same time. He wondered what had happened. He couldn't really remember, just that he had been with Sephiroth and Cloud. And it was difficult to think with all these stupid voices; where were they coming from anyways? He looked around for his friends, but saw nothing but the shifting green.

"Seph? Cloud?"

 _You don't belong here_ , something whispered next to his ear and Zack whipped around to see what it was, but there was nothing there.

 _Are you lost?_

"Yes, I don't know how I got here," Zack said. "Please, tell me where I am."

 _You're here and there and everywhere, but only in one place. That's why you don't belong. You shouldn't be here yet._

Zack heard the sound of children laughing and couldn't help but turn to see where it was coming from, even though he was fairly sure there wouldn't be anyone there. He felt something brush his side, then the laughter moved farther away. _Come play with us!_ a voice called back.

"I have to find my friends."

 _We can be your friends; you don't need anyone else. Come and play!_

Zack knew he shouldn't, but he could feel a part of his mind drifting away to join the children. He wanted to play.

Another voice wandered by, it didn't seem to notice him, though. It was muttering about having lost its keys and needing to let the dog out. "What is this place?" he asked out loud.

 _Home._

"It's not my home."

 _Of course it is. You're here, aren't you? Then this is your home._

"No, I need to find my friends and get out of here."

 _Don't you like it here?_

"Not really."

Zack felt the voice suddenly grow darker and more menacing.

 _You belong here. You're one of us._ Zack felt dark tendrils wrapping around him and struggled against them.

 _…ack. Zack. Zack Fair, can you hear me?_

"Aerith?" Zack paused in his struggling and found that the menacing presence was gone. "Is that you?"

 _Zack! You can hear me! Hang on, Zack. I'm going to get you out of there._ Aerith's voice seemed to be cracking, like she was trying not to cry.

"Do you know what's going on? This is a bit freaky."

 _You're in the Lifestream. I don't know why or how, but I'll get you out. I just need you to hold on to who you are, Zack. Please. Don't listen to anything but my voice._

"Easier said than done," Zack muttered.

 _ZACK! Don't you dare listen to them! I know what you're hearing, and you need to shut it out or you'll lose yourself!_

"I…" What was he going to say? It was like the thought had suddenly vanished from his mind.

 _Just talk to me, Zack. Talk about anything, it doesn't matter. I need to look for Sephiroth while you're talking, but I need you to stay with me._

"What should I talk about?"

 _Tell me about Nibelheim. What's Cloud's mom like?_

"She's… she's really nice, but she and Cloud had a fight. After we're done with the mission, we're going to go see her again. He wants to try and make up. Sephiroth's here too?

 _He is. He's a bit harder to find, though. I don't have the same connection with him as I do with you._

 _Yes…_ The first voice was back. _Your friend is here too, but he doesn't belong, either._

"Can you tell me where he is?"

 _Zack! DON'T listen to the voices!_

"But it knows where Sephiroth is," Zack protested.

 _Don't listen! You'll lose your mind! Please, please stay with me, Zack. I can't lose you. Tell me what Cloud and his mom fought about._

"I… I can't really remember. It probably wasn't important. Don't worry about it." Zack was having trouble bringing himself to care.

 _Shit, Zack, please, it was important. Everything is important. Please try to remember._

"Wow, Aerith, you swear?"

 _Yes, I swear, Zack. When I'm really, really upset, I can swear like one of the finest sailors._

"What are you so upset about? I'm fine. We're all fine." Zack allowed his mind to follow an interesting sounding voice. His body tried to keep up, but it was just so slow. The green made it move sluggishly and he wanted to keep up to the voice. It was easiest just to leave it behind. Suddenly, there was a sharp jerk on his arm and his mind snapped back into his body. "Owww… that hurt. You trying to dislocate my arm or something?"

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Fair?" Sephiroth's voice hissed in his ear and Zack turned to face his general. Glowing green eyes glared menacingly at him from the otherwise unchanged face of his friend. But… was that a _wing_ sprouting from his back? "Answer the question," Sephiroth growled.

"For a walk?" Zack offered feebly.

"I don't think so. Aerith said she's not getting me out of here without you and I want out _now_. Cloud needs help. So quit giving her trouble. I'll drag you out of this place myself if I have to.

 _Thank you, Sephiroth._

"Just hurry up and get us out of here."

 _I will, Sephiroth, I will. But it will take time. I need you to help keep Zack together while I'm working._

"Don't worry, I will. Pain seems to work well."

"Hey…"

 _It's better than losing your mind._

"Did you know that you have a wing, Seph?"

"I noticed."

"It's kind of weird. Do I have one?"

"No."

"Are my eyes still the same? 'Cause yours are green now."

"They look the same to me."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Cloud."

"Why? What happened to him?"

"Are we playing Twenty Questions or something?"

 _Please, keep him talking, Sephiroth,_ Aerith interrupted.

Sephiroth snarled and glared off in a random direction. "How long exactly is this going to take?"

 _I don't know… I've never done anything like this before. I'm sorry. I'll work as fast as I can._

***

It had been almost three months since Aerith had made contact with Zack and Sephiroth. She worked tirelessly, stopping to eat only when someone forced her to, and resting only when she collapsed from exhaustion. Tseng was beginning to worry about her health; the strain was definitely taking a toll on her body. But he knew she wouldn't stop until she had saved them. The Turks took shifts watching over her, and when Tseng wasn't on duty, he busied himself making preparations.

His first order of business, once a sufficient amount of time had passed, had been to have Sephiroth, Zack, Cloud, and Turner declared killed in action. It would help in the long run if they no longer had any legal obligations to the company. After all, if they were dead, they could hardly be expected to fulfill their contracts. It had taken quite a bit of political manoeuvring, but with Rufus and Lazard's help, he had gotten it done.

The second order of business was finding Cloud. The tracking device on his necklace hadn't moved from Nibelheim, which didn't really mean a lot, considering it was perfectly possible for someone to have removed it. But he had Reno intercepting messages from Hojo to the president that seemed to be coming from Nibelheim. Wherever Hojo was, Cloud was sure to be. They had tried to learn as much as they could about Project C. Unfortunately, it was still incredibly top secret and actual data on it was hard to find. Hojo was notorious for keeping all of his documentation in hand-written journals. Still, he had learned that Cloud was meant to replace Sephiroth as the new and improved SOLDIER model. Considering all the torture Sephiroth had gone through as a child, Tseng _really_ didn't want to know what would be inflicted upon Cloud to improve on those results. It was also clear that Cloud was progressing according to the plan; Tseng wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but at least he wasn't dead.

Rufus was busy finalizing his plans for overthrowing Shin-Ra. He had all of his funds in place, and the only thing he was waiting on now was for Sephiroth to join his side. Tseng worried sometimes that Rufus was still expecting Sephiroth to join them right away. He knew that there was absolutely zero chance of that happening. Sephiroth had only one goal, and that was rescuing Cloud. From what Aerith said, that was the thing that was keeping the Lifestream from affecting his mind. There was no way that he'd be willing to help Rufus wage his war before he had gotten Cloud out of Hojo's clutches. Tseng had looked into having the Turks mount a rescue operation, but they couldn't risk such an open move before they had Sephiroth. And besides, if it went wrong and something happened to Cloud, they'd probably lose all hope of Sephiroth joining them.

A soft cry brought Tseng out of his thoughts and he rushed over to Aerith, sitting in the middle of the flowers.

"I did it! They're in Mideel!" Aerith gasped before she collapsed, exhausted. Tseng picked her up carefully and took her out to the truck they had waiting outside. He laid her out in the backseat and covered her with a blanket before pulling out his PHS.

"They're in Mideel," he informed Rufus when he picked up the phone. "I'm taking Aerith and going there now. Let the others know for me, will you?"

"Sure thing, we're counting on you, Tseng."

"Don't expect anything too soon, you know that, right?"

"I know, I know…"

"Right, well, I'll keep you informed, sir." Tseng hung up his phone and got in the driver's seat. Hopefully he could make it to Mideel in record time. He knew Aerith had told Zack and Sephiroth to hide and wait for them to show up, but he could just imagine the chaos they would cause if someone discovered them. Aerith said that Zack kept mentioning that Sephiroth had a wing now and Tseng wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

***

Sephiroth felt one final push from Aerith and suddenly there was solid ground beneath his feet. Pulling Zack with him, he hauled himself to his feet and trudged out of the pool. Fortunately, there was no one around to see them and he dragged Zack's limp form over to the nearby trees. Wait there, Aerith had said. Wait for her and Tseng to show up. She had said it over and over again, as if she was trying to make sure he understood.

"But I can't _wait_ ," Sephiroth said to no one. Cloud needed him now! Still, there wasn't much he could do right away, so he set Zack down against a tree and looked his friend over. It looked like he had mako poisoning, big surprise there; the real question was whether or not he'd recover from it. "Zack." Sephiroth gently shook Zack's shoulder and his friend moaned in response. Well, that was a good sign. Holding onto Zack's mind had been a lot harder than he had hoped and he wasn't sure how much permanent damage had been done. Hopefully Aerith would be able to sort him out once she got there.

Sephiroth sighed and sat down next to Zack. Except attached to him jammed up against the ground as he sat. "Ow!" Sephiroth turned and looked at what had gotten in the way. "Ohhh…" Right… that wing that had shown up in the Lifestream. It was still there. That was… inconvenient. He had gotten used to it while he was in the Lifestream, but he had really been hoping that it would go away once they were out.

He stood back up and stretched the wing out as far as it could go, which was a little over two and a half times as long as his arm. "That's a bit big. I guess it goes with my sword, hey, Zack?" He gave a few experimental flaps and felt himself lift a bit off the ground. Odd, he didn't think flight would be possible with just one wing. "But… how am I going to hide it? I can't just go wandering around with this thing on display if we're going to rescue Cloud. What do you think, Zack?"

Zack kind of grunted and managed to open his eyes and look at him. Sephiroth tried folding up the wing and let out a yell of surprise when it just disappeared into his back. Even Zack's eyes got a bit wider.

"What the hell!?" Sephiroth felt around his back and pulled his coat off to check. It was completely gone. "Umm, come back?" he tried asking. His back remained smooth, however, and Sephiroth concentrated a bit harder on what it had been like to have the wing out. After a few moments, he felt the wing burst into existence again. "This is really fucked up," he remarked to Zack, who seemed to bob his head in agreement.

It took a bit of practice, but after a few hours, Sephiroth was usually able to get it to appear and disappear with a thought. He had also tried flying a bit; that had killed some more time, at least. How long was it going to take Aerith and Tseng to get there? He was wasting time sitting around waiting for them when he needed to be moving. And Zack needed help, too. Mako treatments caused dehydration Zack had gotten one hell of a mako treatment. There was no water around, however. Sephiroth sighed; if they weren't there by nightfall, he'd sneak into town and get some food and water.

***

Night came and there was no sign of anyone coming. Sephiroth reluctantly hid Zack amid some thicker brush and made a quick trip into town. He came back with enough stolen supplies to last a few days and a blanket to cover Zack with. The food and water seemed to revive Zack a little bit. He managed a few mumbled words before curling up in his blanket and falling asleep.

Dawn came and went and still no one came. Sephiroth was wearing a path through the brush as he paced to work off his nervous energy. The path grew wider and smoother as the day passed into night once again. By the dawn of the third day of waiting, Sephiroth had grown frantic. What the fuck was taking them so long? Didn't they realize that this was a life-or-death situation for Cloud? _Hojo_ had him, for Gaia's sake! He lashed out in frustration and accidentally hit a sapling, which cracked and fell over with a loud crash. That felt good. He took a deliberate swing at another, larger tree and watched with a sort of satisfied glee as it joined the other one on the ground. He raged and smashed trees until Zack caught his attention by throwing a branch at him.

"G'nna have nowhere left to hide, y'know."

"I can't help it, Zack." Sephiroth collapsed next to his friend and pulled him into a hug. "He's _waiting_ for me, I know it. He's going to think I've abandoned him."

"Won't think that…" Zack feebly reached up to thump his arm against Sephiroth's back. "S'okay."

"It's _not_ okay. He's probably scared and in pain and I'm just _sitting here_ , waiting."

Zack, apparently, couldn't think of anything more to say and just thumped Sephiroth's back a few more times. They sat, holding each other until the day's heat began to cool off and the light began waning.

"I told the planet that you were going to help _save_ it, Sephiroth," Aerith's voice broke the silence. "That's how I convinced to help me get you guys out. Destroying a forest does _not_ count as saving it."

Sephiroth turned on Aerith with a look of pure fury. "What the _fuck_ took you so long?" he snarled. He felt his wing burst out of his back and Aerith jumped back, startled. He extended it fully and felt it trembling with the rage he was trying to hold back.

"That's enough, Sephiroth." Tseng stepped into the newly made clearing and in front of Aerith. "We got here as fast as we could. Now are you going to pick fights with the people who are trying to help you, or are you going to act reasonably?"

Sephiroth reluctantly lowered his wing and hauled Zack up.

"Zack!" Aerith cried out, but Sephiroth ignored her.

"Let's go then. We've wasted too much time already. I have to find Cloud."

Tseng led the way back to their vehicle and explained a bit of what he knew on the way. "Cloud most likely hasn't been moved from Nibelheim. That's where Jenova is, after all. And his necklace moved from the reactor to the old Shin-Ra manor. It hasn't moved since then, so we think it was taken off. I have some spies watching the manor and there's been quite a bit of movement in and out of it." Tseng shrugged. "I think it's the most logical place to check first."

Sephiroth nodded his agreement. "You have spies set up already? You moved quickly."

Tseng stopped in his tracks. "Sephiroth, how much time do you think has passed?"

"Well, we were waiting there for three days, and it's hard to tell, but we probably spent a few days in the Lifestream. Maybe ten days total?" He gazed at the look of growing horror on Tseng's face and felt his insides twist in on themselves. "How long? How long has it been, Tseng?"

"Eighty-four days since you fell in the Lifestream."

Sephiroth dropped Zack. "E—eight. Four. Eighty-four. Eighty-four days. Eighty-four _fucking_ days, Tseng!?"

"Sephiroth, calm down."

"Calm down!? I'm not going to _calm down_ , Tseng. It's been eighty-four days! Cloud's dead! There's no way Hojo would keep him alive for that long!" Sephiroth lobbed a Firaga off in a random direction. "How the _fuck_ am I supposed to calm down when you just told me that my reason for living is dead?" Sephiroth stilled suddenly with another Firaga waiting to be cast in the palm of his hand. "When my reason for not destroying everything is dead?"

"He's not dead, Sephiroth! Listen to me! He is _not_ dead! We've been intercepting messages from Hojo meant for the president. They're keeping him up to date on Cloud's status, which isn't necessarily good, but he _is_ alive. I know you're pissed off, but you've got to calm down. Cloud is alive, he's waiting for you to come save him."

Sephiroth tossed the Firaga carelessly over his shoulder and Tseng flinched at the resulting explosion of trees. "He'd better be. Hurry up."

He walked off, leaving Tseng and Aerith to help Zack walk.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why do we have to stop _again_?" Sephiroth glared at the sign for the Chocobo Homestead Inn as it creaked in the breeze. "We rested right after we crossed the marshes."

"Because we only rested for an hour and Zack needs a proper rest, in a proper bed," Aerith said snippily.

Sephiroth supposed he couldn't really blame her, he had been complaining ever since they abandoned their vehicle outside the Mythril Mines. It wasn't _their_ fault that they were so slow, but it still grated on Sephiroth's nerves when every step seemed to take half an hour. But even at the painfully slow pace, Sephiroth was sure that going this way would be faster, and safer, than going through Junon. They'd also be far more likely to be able to find a civilian ship at the Midgar port.

"We'll get some chocobos here," Tseng said. "That'll help speed things up. We're making good time, Sephiroth."

"I would have been here a couple days ago if I didn't have to wait for you guys." Sephiroth adjusted his hood and made sure his hair was hidden before throwing the door to the inn open.

"And when you get to Nibelheim way ahead of us and Jenova takes control of you, how exactly do you intend to save Cloud?" Aerith brushed passed him and went to speak to the innkeeper.

Sephiroth growled and flopped down in a chair in the small dining room. He knew Aerith had a good point and he didn't want to admit it. "Get me a bottle of Cosmos Moonshine," he said when the bartender came over.

"Um, Cosmos Moonshine is illegal, sir."

He snarled in frustration. "Fine, a bottle of the strongest alcohol you've got, then."

"One glass will be sufficient." Tseng sat down across from him and gave Sephiroth a patronizing look. "You can drown your sorrows _after_ you rescue your boyfriend."

"But I won't have a reason to drown my sorrows then."

"Exactly. Do you really think you can save him with a hangover?"

"I'll be fine by the time I get there. At _this_ pace, at least."

"You can make use of the time you've got by planning what we're going to do when we get there. If Hojo knows we're coming, who knows what he'll do to him?"

"I hate it when you're right." Sephiroth took the drink the bartender brought over. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. You know, when you first came in, I thought you were one of those black-cloaked men. You look a bit like them, dressed the way you are."

"Black-cloaked men?" Tseng asked and Sephiroth looked up inquiringly.

"Haven't you seen them around? They started showing up maybe… a month ago? Don't do much, mind, just appear in town, shuffle around, sometimes they say something about their mother or a reunion, and then they shuffle off to somewhere else. There's something off about them, though. Freak normal folks right out. You should stay away from them if you see any."

"We'll do that, thank you." Tseng stood up from the table and gestured upstairs with his head. "I should go see if Aerith needs any help. No more than one drink, then you should come get some rest too."

Sephiroth nodded, swirling the ice cubes in his glass. "I'll be up shortly."

***

Zack _did_ look better after a night of proper rest, Sephiroth had to admit. He was up and walking entirely on his own and speaking in full sentences. He even managed to crack a joke or two over breakfast. Aerith was happy beyond all reckoning and it disgusted Sephiroth. How could they be happy when everything tasted like ash in his mouth? Cloud was suffering and they were all over each other like lovesick teenagers. He threw the remains of his muffin down on his plate, unable to stomach any more, and went outside, just to get away from them.

He sat on the corral fence, watching the chocobos preening and thinking about how much Cloud's hair really did look like a chocobo's when Zack exited the inn as well. He growled inaudibly and turned away.

"Sorry, Seph." Zack hopped up on the fence beside him. "I know it can't be easy for you, but can't you be a little happy for us?"

"No," was all he managed to spit out. How could he _possibly_ be happy for them? "I'm glad that you're doing better, though. That means we can move faster, right?"

"Yeah," Zack said quietly, "We can move faster. That's what's important."

"I've got the chocobos arranged," Tseng called as he led two large yellow birds out of the barn. The innkeeper followed with another two.

"Good." Sephiroth grabbed his gear, which was already waiting outside and took the reigns of the largest one. "Get your girlfriend and hurry up, Zack."

Zack gave Sephiroth a tired look and walked back into the inn.

Tseng looked Sephiroth square in the eye. " _Trying_ to ruin your friendships?"

Sephiroth just glared. He knew he was letting his temper and stress get the better of him, but he couldn't bring himself to care enough to get it under control.

"Look, you're going to need us all if you want to get Cloud out of there alive and in one piece. For his sake, at least, try to show some compassion for them. It won't kill you and it won't make the trip go any slower."

Sephiroth sighed and buried his face in the chocobo's neck. It felt nice, actually, running his fingers through the feathers. Soothing, like petting Cloud's hair. "I'll try. Just, can we please try to move a little faster?"

"We'll go as fast as we can. We should make the port by nightfall. Bill said these were the fastest chocobos he has."

"Good." Sephiroth stroked the chocobo's beak and swung up onto its back. "Ready to run, Yellow?"

"You named your chocobo 'Yellow'?" Zack was back with his things swung over his shoulder and Aerith behind him. They loaded their gear onto the two birds that the innkeeper was holding for them and mounted.

"Seemed fitting." Sephiroth shrugged. "Sorry about snapping earlier," he added quietly.

"No problem, I know it's rough."

"It's hard when you're worried sick about the person you love," Aerith said wisely and Sephiroth felt a pang of guilt.

"So now that you've stolen the obvious name, I think I'm going to go with 'Big Chicken' for mine."

"They… they already have names, gentlemen," Bill protested as the small group headed towards the corral's exit.

"But are they as awesome as 'Yellow' and 'Big Chicken'?" Zack asked. "Didn't think so. Thanks for everything!"

With that, they headed off at a sprint towards the towering mass of Midgar that could be seen, even from such a distance.

***

It was just past dusk when they finally dismounted after a hard day's ride. The chocobos were exhausted and Sephiroth gratefully patted Yellow's neck. "You can rest now, boy. You did good." Yellow warked and ruffled his feathers in relief when Sephiroth removed his gear from the chocobo's back. "I've got some nice greens for you when we're on the ship."

"I'm going to go find us a ride," Tseng said and walked off into the murky gloominess of the Midgar port streets.

It wasn't even a proper town, Sephiroth thought, looking around at the barren streets. There was an inn for sailors, and a few bars. Everything else was warehouses and shipyards. Shin-Ra almost never used it, preferring the established base at Junon for military movement, so the port was primarily used by civilian ships. This was the port that Cloud had arrived in when he left home to join Shin-Ra. Cloud had related that tale on the way to Nibelheim. He had been so out of it, both during his trip and while he was telling the story, that Sephiroth wasn't entirely sure how much of it had been imagined. Apparently he had taken a _lot_ of the anti-nauseants for the trip. Sephiroth stroked Yellow's neck sadly. Cloud was all right, he tried to assure himself. Tseng said he was still alive, that was what counted in the end.

"Seph…ir…oth…" Sephiroth whipped around and saw a hunched figure wearing a black cloak. "Trai…tor…" It raised a shaking hand and pointed at him.

Zack and Aerith rushed over to see what was going on; Zack kept Aerith firmly behind him. Sephiroth grabbed the creature by its shoulders and shook it roughly.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "How do you know who I am?"

Its cloak fell back, revealing a twisted creature that looked vaguely like Sephiroth. It had a large number 12 tattooed on its hand. "Mo…ther… Re…un…ion… Failuuuure…"

"What is it?" Aerith sounded pitying.

"No clue. We'll wait for Tseng to get back and let him take a look at it. See if he knows anything about it."

Sephiroth didn't manage to get anything more out of the creature by the time Tseng arrived to tell them when they'd be leaving. Tseng was clearly disturbed by the thing, if the look on his normally impassive face was anything to go by. "None of the information we have suggests that Hojo's working on anything like this."

"It's definitely Hojo's work," Sephiroth said. "I'd recognize his way of marking his specimens any day."

"Well, he's keeping it a secret from the president. I wonder what its purpose is? It hasn't given you any useful information?"

"No, it just keeps calling me a traitor and a failure."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Zack grinned.

"Well, if we're not going to get anything out of it, we should kill it and get going. The ship I got us passage on leaves soon."

"You're just going to kill it?"

"We can't let it wander around, Aerith." Zack led her away from Sephiroth and Tseng as Sephiroth pulled Masamune out of the blankets that were hiding it. "Who knows what its purpose is. It's probably better off dead, anyways. Seph'll make it quick."

Sephiroth neatly dispatched the creature, which didn't put up a struggle at all, and Tseng hid the body in an alley. Aerith looked mildly upset when they returned, but she nodded firmly when Sephiroth met her eyes. She was stronger than Sephiroth had given her credit for; he realized that now. They led the chocobos through the streets to the docks in silence and Tseng handed over a wad of gil to the man who was waiting for them at a barnacle-covered merchant ship.

"We're coming, Cloud," Sephiroth whispered into the sea breeze. "We're coming for you. Just hold on a little longer."

***

Nibelheim looked exactly the same as it had the last time, except there was less snow on the ground and crocuses were beginning to peek up through the soil. It really had been over three months since they had last been here. "Ninety-seven," Sephiroth murmured under his breath. Ninety-seven days since Cloud had made something up about wanting to be carried, just to help him fight Jenova's influence. Ninety-seven days since he had promised Cloud that they could go see his mother again. Ninety-seven days since Cloud whispered that he loved him, over and over again.

"Ready for this?" Zack thumped him on the shoulder.

"Of course."

"Aerith is going to use her connection to the planet to block out Jenova's voice; you should be in the clear."

"Good." Sephiroth strode through the town gates giving off a menacing aura. It worked well, and people subconsciously avoided their small group until they passed Cloud's house. Sephiroth didn't know how she recognized him, but the door burst open with a bang and Alde came tearing out, screaming Sephiroth's name.

"Where is he? Where's my boy? He ran off with you, didn't he? Why isn't he with you?" Alde ran straight into him and Sephiroth didn't even have a chance to react before she was pounding on his chest as hard as she could. "I need to apologize," she sobbed, "I never meant to drive him away. Where is he?"

Sephiroth was confounded. Alde thought that they had just run away together? "Ma'am, you didn't drive him away. He was going to come back and talk to you again."

"And you convinced him not to! You probably told him that he'd be better off without me!" Alde was suddenly full of fury again. "How could you take advantage of him like that? You know that he could never say no!"

"What? I—"

"I just needed _time!_ You sprung that on me with no warning and expected me to just accept it! That's not fair! How dare you take him away from me?"

Sephiroth gave up on reasoning with her and shoved Alde away. "I don't have time for this. I need to go rescue my lover from the hands of a madman. Cloud's been here this entire time." He left Alde gaping in shock and walked quickly towards the mansion, drawing his sword, with the rest of his team falling in behind. That scene had probably drawn the attention of any of Hojo's spies that might be in town. He had to hurry.

***

The new lock on the door to the Shin-Ra mansion beeped and flashed green as Tseng stepped back and returned his tools to his pockets. "Go ahead and open it," he said.

"Sephiroth?" Aerith spoke up from the back of their little party.

"What?"

"Should… should Jenova be affecting you by now? Because I'm not feeling anything."

"That's strange. You think you'd be able to feel if she was trying to affect me?"

"Yeah, I'm certain of it."

"Well, she was definitely affecting me from this distance when we were here last. Maybe try stopping whatever you're doing to block her and we'll test."

"I… don't like that plan," Zack said warily.

"Me neither," said Tseng, "What if it's a trap?"

"What if she's not even here?" Sephiroth retorted. "I can't sense her presence like I could before. I thought that was because of Aerith, but what if it's not? Take Masamune from me and, Zack, be ready for anything." Sephiroth handed his sword to Tseng, who stepped back a ways, and Zack drew his own sword and assumed his battle stance.

Aerith gave him a nod. "Okay, on three. One… two… three."

There was no voice. No screaming and no buzzing. Just an awareness of Jenova that made itself known in his mind. He knew she was still in the direction of the reactor, and that was about it. There was another, fainter presence somewhere underground as well. It felt like… it felt like Cloud.

"I can sense her," Sephiroth said to his anxious-looking friends, "But she's not saying anything. But, I think I can sense Cloud as well."

Zack looked skeptical. "You can sense Cloud?"

Sephiroth nodded. It wasn't much, no feelings or emotions, and he was sure that Cloud wouldn't be able to hear him, but it was Cloud. "Yeah, I'm certain that's him. We have to hurry." He went to open the door, but a large sword blocked his path.

"I don't want to doubt you, Seph, but, Aerith, babe, could you work your mojo again?"

"No! I can tell where he is!"

"We'll find him, Sephiroth," Tseng said, "Just take note of his approximate direction and we'll go from there. I still think this is a trap; I don't think she should just be ignoring you."

"If we get lost, I'll let the barrier down again, don't worry." Aerith patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

Sephiroth was certain he could feel his heart breaking as Cloud was suddenly cut off from him once again. Still, he steeled himself and held out his hand for Masamune. He opened the door and stepped into the foyer that looked exactly the same as the first time he had come here.

"The passage to the basement is upstairs," he said after listening for anyone or anything that might be lurking nearby.

"What's up with that? Why go upstairs to go downstairs?"

"Now's really not the time, Zack," Aerith whispered.

"Spoilsport."

"Shut up, Fair," Sephiroth snapped.

***

"We need a light," Zack said, peering down the winding staircase. "Aerith and Tseng won't be able to see a thing without one."

"I've got one." Tseng pulled a small flashlight out of his suit pocket."

"How do you fit all that stuff in your pockets without them bulging all over the place?" Zack asked.

"Zack, shut up. Now."

"Sorry, Seph. I'm just nervous, ya know?"

"Yes, I know very well. And yet, somehow, I'm managing to keep all my stupid questions to myself. Let's go. Tseng behind me, followed by Aerith. You take up the rear, Zack."

"Yes, sir."

They made their way down the long staircase. The air got stuffier as they went further down and the light coming from the top of the stairs grew smaller and smaller. Soon, Tseng's tiny flashlight was their only source of light. Unfortunately, it seemed to attract bats. He and Zack fended the creatures off easily while Tseng stood in front of Aerith with his gun drawn.

"I _can_ fight, you guys know that, right?"

"I know, I've seen you," Tseng said. "But you need to concentrate on blocking Jenova. We don't want you to get hit and lose your concentration, even for a second."

"What he said." Zack wiped the blood off his blade and returned it to his back. "Crazy Seph isn't a fun Seph."

They finally made it to the bottom of the stairs and Sephiroth cut his way through a dozen or so Sahagins, with Zack mopping up any leftovers, until they reached the heavy door that led into the basement proper. He pulled it open with a feeling of relief at its silence and cautiously looked into the corridor. There was no one around, and no noise at all. That alone was suspicious. Sephiroth looked around at the branching corridors and unmarked doors in despair; he had only gone to the library the last time he was here.

"I vote for left," Zack said brightly.

"I vote that Aerith stops blocking me for a moment. I refuse to waste time going in the completely wrong direction."

"That's a good idea," Aerith said. "On three again."

Cloud definitely felt closer now and he could sense more of his mind. It felt… groggy? Maybe Cloud had been asleep—or unconscious. "Left," he said firmly. _I'm coming, Cloud. I'm coming to get you._ He didn't know if Cloud would be able to hear him or not, but it didn't hurt to try.

"I knew it was left."

***

"That's… mildly disturbing."

Sephiroth looked over Tseng's shoulder and saw a room with five coffins laid out in a row. "We should move on," he said. Cloud wasn't in here.

"Should… should we open them?" Zack peered over Tseng's other shoulder. "I mean, just to check. Maybe they're empty. Why would they just put coffins with bodies in them in a room?"

"Be quick about it, then. I'm going to check the rest of the rooms along this hall." He supposed Zack had a point, even if it was going to delay them. It was strange to have a room full of coffins. He opened the remaining doors; most were nothing but storage rooms, while listening for any sounds of trouble coming from the coffin room. He heard some grunting and creaking of wood, then some skittering and a few unimpressed shouts followed by a blast of magic.

"I can't believe you're afraid of a few bugs," he heard Aerith say.

"I wasn't afraid!"

Sephiroth heard some more creaking and turned his attention back to the room he was searching.

"SEPHIROTH! Get in here!" Zack shouted down the hallway.

"Is it Cloud?" Sephiroth flew through the door and slammed into Zack's back in his panic.

"You know Sephiroth?" A man dressed in black with a red cape was standing, balanced on the edge of the middle coffin.

"I _am_ Sephiroth." Sephiroth stepped to Zack's side. "Who the hell are you?"

"And why were you in a coffin?"

"I… I am atoning for my sins. You… look just like her." The man looked up at Sephiroth when he spoke.

"I don't have time for cryptic bullshit. Either explain yourself or I'll put you back in that coffin."

"I am Vincent Valentine. I was with the Shin-Ra Manufacturing Department of Administrative Research…"

"You're a Turk." Tseng didn't make it a question.

"Formerly of the Turks, yes. I am no longer associated with Shin-Ra. And you?"

"Are we _former_ SOLDIERs?" Zack asked Sephiroth.

"I think we qualify as former."

"Former SOLDIER First Class, Zack Fair. This is Aerith Gainsborough, a flower-seller, Tseng—are you formerly a Turk?"

"I remain, and will always remain, a Turk."

"Okay, okay, touchy much. Tseng of the Turks, and I guess you've heard of General Sephiroth."

"You're with Shin-Ra? Then you must know Lucrecia…"

"Who?"

"Lucrecia… the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

"What? Hear that, Seph? You _do_ have a mom!"

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what to think of that revelation. "Lucrecia?" He shook his head firmly. "I want to hear more about this, but now's not the time; you're coming with us, Valentine."

"I can't. I must atone."

"Fuck that. I'm not arguing with you. You're coming." Sephiroth grabbed Vincent by the odd metal gauntlet on his left arm and pulled him off the coffin.

"It'll be fun, Mr. Valentine," Zack said. "We're going to rescue a beautiful blond and hopefully kill a mad scientist!"

"A scientist?"

"Name's Hojo. Real nutjob. He kidnapped Sephiroth's lover and tried to kill us. He's experimenting on Cloud, so we're mounting a rescue."

"Hojo…" Vincent twisted the name in his mouth, filling it with loathing. "I'll go with you."

Sephiroth levelled a glare at Vincent; he had to make sure it was clear. "Hojo is _my_ kill. Understood? I don't give a shit what he did to you."

Vincent simply shrugged. "The screams I've been hearing lately have always been coming from that direction." He pointed down the hallway. "I suspect your lover is that way."

Sephiroth came to a dead stop. Had he just heard what he thought he heard? "Valentine," he snarled, his entire body trembling with rage. "If you could hear Cloud screaming… WHY THE _FUCK_ DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING!?" He grabbed Vincent by the neck and slammed him into the wall; the concrete cracked a bit from the force of the impact.

"Seph! Sephiroth, put him down!" Zack grabbed his arm and hauled him away from Vincent, who gracefully dropped to the floor and brushed himself off.

"It wasn't my place. I'll help you now because you're Lucrecia's son, but other people's problems are not my own."

"I should lock you back in that coffin and let you burn when we torch this mansion." Sephiroth stalked down the hall in a flurry of black and silver without a backwards glance. He heard the others' footsteps behind him and the new clacking sound caused by Vincent's strange boots. He wasn't sure if knowing who his mother was was worth putting up with someone who had played dead while Cloud suffered. He could deal with it for now, he supposed, if the man knew where Cloud might be. He clenched Masamune tightly. "Almost there, Cloud."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone really believe that Sephiroth would put up with Vincent's cryptic emo bullshit? I love Vincent, but there's no way Sephiroth would tolerate that shit.
> 
> Also, I always wondered about that thing with the stairs in FFVII. I thought I'd check it out when I came here. While I haven't had to go up to go down yet, I did have to go down in order to go up today.


	8. Chapter 8

Sephiroth wiped the blood off Masamune from the last lab tech they had encountered. This section of the basement looked a lot newer and was definitely more active. There was a large white door with a keypad next to it just ahead. Maybe... Sephiroth stepped forward and listened at the door. He could _just_ make out a voice; it was slurred and it sounded terrified.

"Nnnn... nnn!" It was Cloud. He'd recognize his voice anywhere, no matter what.

There was no time for fiddling with keypads, so Sephiroth simply used his sword and sliced through the reinforced door like it was butter. He kicked the remains of the door down and was greeted with his worst nightmare.

Cloud was naked, and strapped to a table with Hojo standing over him, cutting into his chest. Sephiroth froze. He had no idea what he could do; Hojo had a scalpel _in Cloud's chest_. The man could do _anything_ before Sephiroth got there. Cloud was awake and struggling against his bonds, but then his eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of Sephiroth standing in the doorway.

"Se—" Cloud fought even harder, bucking against the straps and trying to wiggle out of them, completely ignoring the blood pooling around him.

Hojo paused and turned around, seemingly unsurprised by Sephiroth's appearance in the doorway. "Oh, the failure's back. Well, we need your cells anyways, if we're going to have a proper reunion." He turned back to Cloud and roughly pulled the scalpel out of his chest. "We can postpone this for another day. Kill him."

Cloud flailed some more before his entire body suddenly stilled and his eyes went vacant. He seemed to be waiting patiently while Hojo unstrapped him. Sephiroth took a few steps towards him and Cloud pulled his legs underneath himself with a feral snarl. "Traitor..."

"Shi—"

Cloud launched himself at Sephiroth with a level of ferocity he had never seen from anyone before. Cloud was unarmed, but it made no difference. He fought tooth and nail, and the force of Cloud's impact knocked Sephiroth back into the wall. Small, but incredibly strong hands wrapped themselves around Sephiroth's throat and squeezed. Sephiroth didn't want to hurt Cloud, but he had to breathe. He managed to pull Cloud's hands off his neck and push him away. This was bad. This wasn't Cloud, but Cloud was still in there. He just had to get him calmed down.

Sephiroth attempted to pin Cloud underneath him, but Cloud was too fast. He dodged and grabbed Sephiroth by the arm before heaving him up and throwing him across the room into a row of cabinets. Sephiroth lay among the broken glass and shattered vials, gasping for air. Never before had he been _thrown_. Like a ragdoll. He saw Cloud coming for him and struggled to stand.

Zack and Vincent threw themselves at Cloud's back, grabbing his arms and trying to slow him down. He saw Tseng make a run for some cabinets on the other side of the room and start rummaging through them.

"Jenova's controlling him!" Aerith shouted. "I'm going to try and block her."

The effect of Aerith's actions was immediately apparent as Cloud suddenly ceased all fighting and collapsed to the ground.

"Sephiroth? You—you really came? He told me you were dead."

"Of course I came, Cloud. I'd never leave you." Sephiroth rushed over to Cloud's side and pulled him into his arms while Zack and Vincent backed away.

Aerith suddenly let out a pained scream and Sephiroth looked up in time to see her fall in a heap on the floor.

"Aerith!" Zack rushed over to her side and Cloud snarled again.

This time, Sephiroth reacted in time to land properly when he was thrown once again. Cloud launched himself at him again, but was stopped by Vincent landing on his back. Cloud let out a scream of anguish and Sephiroth saw Vincent's clawed hand digging into the wound on Cloud's chest.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" Sephiroth shouted and rushed forward to try and pin Cloud down again.

"Move away!" Tseng suddenly commanded, and Sephiroth stepped back instinctively. He heard a loud pop and saw a dart embed itself in Cloud's neck. Sephiroth moved quickly enough to catch Cloud's unconscious form before he hit the ground.

"What did you hit him with?" Sephiroth asked as he cradled Cloud in his arms and activated his Restore to cure the wound on his chest. A wound that now looked significantly nastier thanks to Vincent's 'help'.

"It was labelled 'Specimen C – Emergency Tranquilizer', so I figured it was worth a shot." Tseng knelt down next to them and pulled the dart from Cloud's neck and checked his pulse and breathing. "Yeah, he should be fine."

"How's Aerith?" Sephiroth asked.

"She's unconscious, but she's breathing," Zack said.

Sephiroth nodded his understanding and turned his attention back to Cloud. He ran his hand through what was left of Cloud's hair; large sections were shaved and he could feel the bumps of scars and stitches. The rest of his body was littered with scars as well. Hojo hadn't shown any mercy.

"HOJO!" Sephiroth shouted and sat bolt upright. "Where's Hojo?"

"I think he escaped in the chaos," Tseng said disappointedly. "Do you want to go after him?"

"No… Cloud needs help. And we should get Aerith someplace safe as well. We'll deal with Hojo later." Sephiroth paused and concentrated for a moment. "I... I can feel Jenova now. She's moving."

"Where?" Zack asked nervously.

"Farther away. And fairly quickly; her presence is getting more and more faint."

"Maybe Hojo took her and ran."

"Maybe... that'll make him easier to track down, at least."

"When did you become such an optimist?"

"He's alive." Sephiroth smiled and looked down at Cloud fondly. "He's alive; he'll be okay." Sephiroth looked up again, all business. "We should get out of here." He managed to take off his coat without letting go of Cloud and wrapped it around his naked body. Gathering Cloud up, he stood and then paused for a moment. "Where should we go?"

"Why don't we go to Alde's house?" Zack suggested. "She's got beds and we really should explain what's going on. She deserves to know that Cloud's alive."

Sephiroth grumbled quietly. He really didn't want to go see that woman again, but Zack was probably right, and it was a better option than the inn. Besides, Cloud would want his mom to know he was alive, if not well. "All right. Tseng, _Valentine_ ," Sephiroth snarled Vincent's name, "You're in charge of fending off nasties."

***

They definitely drew a crowd when they walked back into town; people were practically lining the streets, waiting to catch a glimpse. Sephiroth felt the urge to bring out his wing and use it to hide Cloud from their stares, but figured that would draw even more attention. Instead he settled for covering as much of Cloud as possible with his coat and draping his hair like a curtain over Cloud's head. Alde was waiting outside, looking anxious as they made their way down the street towards her house. She didn't say anything as she ushered them in; she didn't even give Vincent a second glance, despite his unusual getup.

Alde led them upstairs into a tiny bedroom with old posters and a toy train set on the dresser. This must have been Cloud's room, Sephiroth thought as he looked around.

"You can set him down on the bed and get out," Alde ordered.

Sephiroth tightened his grip on Cloud and slowly turned to face her. "What?"

Alde stepped forward and reached out to grab at Cloud. Sephiroth saw Tseng's eyes go wide as he dodged out of Alde's reach and ended up across the room before he even realized he was moving.

"Give me back my son, you bastard!" Alde suddenly screamed at him.

"We came here so we could have a safe place to stay while we try to heal Cloud. We also thought that you deserved to know what happened. If you don't want that, we'll leave, right now, but I'm taking Cloud with me." Sephiroth shifted Cloud so that he was holding him with one arm and Cloud's head was tucked into his shoulder, just in case he needed a free arm to fend Alde off.

"Don't you dare take him away from me again! I've been worried _sick_ about him these past months! And now you show up again and tell me that you _abandoned_ him all this time? You think I'm going to just let you have him?"

"I _never_ abandoned him, you bitch." Sephiroth's pulse was going a mile-a-minute, and he rocked Cloud gently, stroking his hair; he was worried that his anger might affect Cloud somehow. "I spent this entire time trying to get back to him. What did you do? Other than wait around for him to come back?"

"How dare you!? How was I supposed to know where he was? You Shin-Ra folks never tell anyone anything! You think I didn't call him? Didn't write? I thought you stole him from me!"

"Do you really have so little faith in your own son? You think he'd just walk out on you like that and never contact you again? Cloud doesn't do that to the people he loves." Sephiroth bend his head and planted several kisses on Cloud's head. Cloud smelled of mako; he needed to have a shower sooner, rather than later.

"Don't you start putting words in my mouth, you cradle-robber!" Alde was positively beside herself with fury. "How am I supposed to know what sort of mind-games you played on him? For all I know, you threatened him into staying with you! Everyone knows you're completely heartless!"

"I spent far too long believing that I wasn't capable of love to be willing to take that shit from _anyone_ , ever again! And that includes backwater hags who don't know the first thing about me! I love Cloud more than you can possibly imagine, and don't you _dare_ tell me otherwise!" Sephiroth rocked Cloud some more and mumbled some random comforting nothings in his ear. He hoped that Cloud couldn't somehow hear him calling Alde names. Not that she didn't deserve them.

"You're just saying that! If you really loved him, you'd leave him with me. He needs his _mother_ , not some warmongering SOLDIER."

"And how exactly do you plan on taking care of him? In case you haven't noticed, Cloud's been through hell. He needs people who know what they're doing to look after him. Besides, if Cloud and I ever separate, it'll be because _Cloud_ made the decision, _not_ you."

Alde just gaped at him, completely at a loss for anything more to say and Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud. He really needed to get that mako washed off.

"Can we stay here without you being a bitch about it or not?" Sephiroth asked.

"You… you can stay," Alde conceded.

"Then where's the shower?"

"What?"

"I need to get the mako washed off of him." Sephiroth took a deep breath and tried to calm himself and explain patiently. "Too much exposure to mako causes mako poisoning. Right now, he smells like he just came out of a mako tank; it's all over him, so I need to get him in the shower."

"Is that why he isn't waking up?" Alde asked as she led him towards the bathroom.

"No, he's sedated. I'm not sure what it was that was used on him, but he should wake up soon." Sephiroth didn't feel the need to mention that they were the ones who had sedated him. The truce between him and Alde seemed too shaky for that bit of information. He just hoped that Cloud would be himself when he woke up.

"What about that girl? The one Zack was carrying. Is she all right?"

"I'm not sure; I hope so. She was injured in the fight." Sephiroth set Cloud down on the toilet and pulled his jacket off Cloud's shoulders. He left it draped over his lap, however, and gave Alde a pointed look as she set some towels on the counter. "Tseng will be able to explain more about what happened. And I can handle this myself."

Alde looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but she bit her lip and nodded, reluctantly backing out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Sephiroth looked over at the shower and noticed that the showerhead was fixed in one place; that would make things tricky. He leaned Cloud against the counter and quickly stripped, then pulled the jacket off Cloud's lap and picked him up again and set him on the edge of the tub. Sephiroth sat down next to him and fiddled with the taps until he had a nice warm spray going. He pulled the curtain shut around them and found a sponge that would probably make things a bit easier.

He took his time washing Cloud, using the opportunity to inspect the damage that Hojo had wrought. He had only had a brief glance at the scars earlier. The first thing he noticed was the small numerical 'one' tattooed on his left hand. That and that Cloud was far too thin. He had grown at least a couple of inches—Sephiroth had noticed that when he was carrying him—but he had also lost weight. There was no fat on his body at all, just lean muscles that looked strained, even while he was unconscious. Sephiroth ran his fingers over thick, ropelike scars that were all over Cloud's body, and when he washed Cloud's hair, he felt several large staples in his skull.

Sephiroth let himself slowly drop to the floor of the shower and pulled Cloud into his lap. He rocked them back and forth while he cried for the second time in his memory. "I'm so sorry, Cloud. I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sephiroth whispered over and over again until the water began to run cold.

With a heavy heart, Sephiroth shut off the shower and pulled back the curtain. He grabbed a towel off the counter and wrapped it around Cloud, gently rubbing him dry. He carefully patted the area around the staples dry; it was too late to worry about not getting them wet, but he didn't want them to get infected. He would see about taking them out tomorrow and healing the wound properly, with materia. Just as Sephiroth was drying himself off, there was a knock at the door. He wrapped his towel around his waist and opened it a crack. Zack was standing there with a bundle of clothes.

"Tseng went over to the inn, and apparently Mrs. Guptar kept all our stuff in case we came back for it. So I got out some PJs for Cloud. Figured they'd fit him better than anything he had left here. And here are yours as well."

"Thanks, Zack." Sephiroth took the bundle. "How's Aerith?"

"She woke up, maybe... fifteen minutes ago, but she's pretty groggy. Tseng says he thinks she'll be all right. Not sure how he knows so much about her... but he seems pretty sure. Get dressed and we'll talk some more about what we're going to do now."

"All right, thanks for the clothes."

"No problem, wait till Spiky sees what else I found!"

Sephiroth shut the door and turned back to Cloud, who was leaned up against the counter again. His drying hair wasn't nearly as spiky as it had been; the missing patches seemed to kill its ability to stand on end. He wondered vaguely what Cloud would want to do with it as he dressed them both. People teased Cloud about his hair a lot, but he never changed it, so Sephiroth supposed he must have liked it. He sighed. Of all the changes, hair was probably the least concerning. It would grow out in time. Other things were probably a lot more permanent.

"Come on, Cloud," Sephiroth said, scooping Cloud up once more, "Let's go see if we can avoid another fight with your mother."

"Nnn..." Sephiroth heard a small moan in his ear.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth hurried back to Cloud's bedroom and sat down on the bed. "Can you hear me, Cloud?"

Cloud's eyelashes fluttered and his head flopped feebly. "Nnngh..."

"Shh, don't try to move, Cloud. You were sedated, but you're safe now. Don't be scared. You're safe. I've got you." He rocked Cloud and stroked his hair, hoping to keep him calm.

"Se..."

"Yeah, it's me. You're all right now." Sephiroth heard a small sound in the doorway and looked up to see Alde standing there with an odd expression on her face. "He's waking up," he informed her.

She nodded and came and sat next to them on the bed, keeping her distance and a wary eye on Sephiroth. Sephiroth ignored her and went back to rocking Cloud. Cloud cracked open his eyes and looked up at Sephiroth blearily.

"Seph?" Cloud's voice cracked as he tried to speak.

"I'll get him some water," Alde said quietly.

"Ice chips would be better."

"Okay." Alde hurried out of the room and down the stairs.

"Hey, Cloud." Sephiroth leaned his head down and kissed Cloud's forehead. "Your mom's going to get you some ice and that should make talking easier." Sephiroth paused, unsure of what else to say. Cloud was probably really confused right now, but Sephiroth wasn't sure how to explain. At least he seemed to be himself; that was a step in the right direction.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, your mom's here. We got you out of the lab and we're hanging out with her for a while."

Alde came back in with a cup of broken up ice cubes and set it on the nightstand. "Cloud? Baby? Are you all right?"

Sephiroth selected a piece of ice from the cup and held it to Cloud's lips until he opened his mouth, allowing Sephiroth to place it on his tongue. "Just let it melt," he said quietly.

Alde kept a shaking hand on Cloud's knee as he sucked on the ice chips. Sephiroth supposed she must have been really worried about him. Tseng and Vincent had gathered in the doorway, and were waiting expectantly—like they were worried something was going to happen. Finally, when he had had enough, Cloud reached out weakly for Sephiroth's hand.

"Not dreaming?" he asked.

"No, you're not dreaming. You're really safe now, I promise."

"Imagined so many times you'd come. Never real, though."

"It's real this time. I promise."

"Saw Tseng. Doesn't like me."

Sephiroth glanced up at the doorway; Tseng was there, but Cloud was only focusing on Sephiroth. He must have seen him in the labs. Sephiroth wondered what to say to that, and where Cloud gotten the idea that Tseng didn't like him. While he struggled, Tseng came over to kneel down beside them.

"I don't like you enough to carry you when you're drunk," he said, "But I do like you enough to come rescue you."

Cloud swivelled his head to focus his gaze on Tseng.

"It's weird, though, isn't it? I'm not the person you'd imagine coming to get you, am I?"

Cloud slowly shook his head, no.

"And you've never seen that guy before, have you?" Tseng pointed at Vincent, still hovering in the doorway, looking awkward. "He looks too weird to just be a figment of your imagination. And you probably never thought that you'd be taken to your mom's house when you were rescued, did you?"

Cloud shook his head again. "No... it's weird."

"So it must not be a dream," Sephiroth said, throwing a grateful smile at Tseng.

"Not a dream..." Cloud bobbed his head slowly. "Zack?"

"Zack's downstairs," Tseng said. "He's making some soup for you and Aerith."

"Are you hungry, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked.

"A bit."

"I'll go see if it's ready." Tseng stood and swept out of the room.

"Aerith?"

"She came too. She can block Jenova's voice, except it seems that Jenova attacked her when she tried to block her from you."

"'M sorry." Cloud turned his head and buried it in Sephiroth's chest. "Didn't mean to, 'm sorry."

Shit, he shouldn't have brought that up. "Shh, shh, it's okay. I know you weren't in control. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"What's he talking about?" Alde asked.

"Um, just—" Sephiroth was saved the trouble of answering by Tseng coming back with a tray with a bowl of soup on it. He waited while Sephiroth sat himself and Cloud up, so they were propped up against the headboard. Tseng set the tray down in front of Cloud, who fumbled, trying to pick up the spoon. Sephiroth took it from him and scooped up a spoonful of broth. He tested the temperature and blew on it a few times to cool it before holding it up to Cloud's lips.

"Sorry," Cloud mumbled as he slurped the soup.

"Don't be. It's hard getting your hands to work properly after you've been out for a while. And you need to eat."

Alde watched Sephiroth the entire time he fed Cloud and he really wished she'd stop. It made him feel uncomfortable, like everything he did was being judged. When Cloud had had enough, she took the tray and set it on the nightstand. The ice chips had long since melted, but Sephiroth figured that Cloud was awake enough to handle drinking from a cup without choking. He held the glass steady while Cloud slowly sipped at it.

Eventually, Sephiroth got them both lying down on the bed, with Cloud curled up in his arms. "Go to sleep now, Cloud. I'll be right here in the morning," he whispered in Cloud's ear.

"Promise? You won't leave?"

"I promise. I won't leave you alone. I love you."

"Is he sleeping?" Zack poked his head in through the door, looking disappointed.

"Not quite, did you need something?"

"I just wanted to give him this." Zack held out that stupid stuffed chocobo and waved it in front of Cloud's face. "I found it jammed in the bottom of his pack."

Cloud cracked open an eye and grabbed the toy out of Zack's hand faster than Sephiroth thought he was capable of moving. He wrapped one arm around it and kept the other one firmly around Sephiroth as he closed his eyes once again.

"If he gets mad about it in the morning, I'm blaming you, Zack," Sephiroth warned.

"I know, I know, you always do. Oh, and speaking of chocobos, Tseng also rented a few stalls at the inn when he was there. It's a good thing _someone's_ on the ball. I totally forgot about them." Zack turned to Alde and spoke, "We should all get to bed; it's been a long day." He shooed Alde out of the room and turned back and mouthed to Sephiroth, "I'll be back in a few."

Sephiroth nodded and listened to Alde protesting about leaving him and Cloud alone together as Zack ushered her to her room. "Don't worry, ma'am," Zack was saying, "Sephiroth is very good at being a platonic teddy bear."

"You don't actually expect me to believe that their relationship is platonic, do you? I may be a backwater hag, but I'm not stupid."

"You're not a hag, ma'am. And no, I don't expect you to believe that. But Sephiroth would never even consider touching Cloud unless Cloud was awake and consenting."

Alde sighed, "He really does care about him, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does. With all his heart. So give him a chance, okay? They're good for each other."

"He'll have to prove that to me," Alde said resolutely. "I have a hard time believing that he's good enough for my Cloud."

"I'm sure you'll be able to see that for yourself, eventually. Anyways, have a good sleep, ma'am. Thanks for letting us stay here."

"You're welcome. Goodnight, Zack."

Sephiroth settled back in the bed, stroking Cloud's hair and thinking of what Alde had said. Of course he would never touch Cloud when he was like this. Was that what ordinary people really thought he was like? Sephiroth sighed, at least... at least she seemed to be coming around. And she _had_ left them alone, although he wouldn't put it past her to sneak out of her room to eavesdrop on them.

"What made her so overprotective of you, Cloud?" he whispered quietly enough that he wouldn't actually disturb Cloud. "She knew about you being bullied, didn't she? She's worried you'll be hurt again."

Sephiroth sighed again. That was probably her reasoning, but it didn't make him feel any better. "And what are we going to do about you? What did Hojo do to you?" Jenova being able to control Cloud was a huge problem and Sephiroth was certain that it would happen again. Sephiroth was at a disadvantage when it came to fighting Cloud; there was no way he could bring himself to use enough force to hurt him. And they couldn't just keep sedating him, either. "Jenova controls you by controlling her cells that were implanted in your body, right? Like they were implanted in mine." Sephiroth paused with his hand on Cloud's head. "Hey, Cloud, I have an idea."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a warning for this chapter at the notes at the end if you really, really want it. Spoiler, though, if you haven't been freaked out by anything yet, don't look, I think you'll be fine.
> 
> Check out the Prisoners of War community found [here](http://ffvii-pow.livejournal.com/). The first two pages of the comic have been posted there already! All the latest updates will be able to be found there. Possibly some extra stuff, I'm not sure yet.
> 
> Also, (this is somewhat random) the imported Wutai steaks that Tseng got Sephiroth to buy for him in chapter 23 were (probably not-so-cunningly) disguised Kobe beef. After having eaten Kobe beef, I think that there's no way I'd trade it for middle of the night boyfriend pickuppage. That is some damn good meat. And this is coming from someone who hated beef until I came here and there was nothing else to eat some nights. So now the whole chapter sucks because that just pulls me right out of it. Kobe beef > Cloud. Sorry, Cloud. I didn't even try the top-grade stuff.

Sephiroth could see Cloud's sleeping form just fine, despite the lack of light in the room. "Can you see in the dark now, too?" he asked out loud.

"He probably can," Zack's voice was barely a whisper as he poked his head in through the door. "Can we come in? We promise to be quiet. And I brought you food." Zack held out a plate of sandwiches.

"Yeah, we need to talk. Is Aerith with you?"

"I'm here." Aerith clung to Zack's hand as she followed him into the dark room. "There are some things I need to talk to you guys about as well."

Tseng and Vincent followed them in; Vincent had had the sense to take off those ridiculous boots, so he moved as quietly as the others. When everyone had arranged themselves around Cloud's bed, Sephiroth spoke between taking huge bites of his sandwiches. He hadn't realized how hungry he was.

"I know there are a lot of things we need to talk about, but I want to ask Aerith something first."

"Sure, what is it?" Aerith scooted a bit closer so she could hear better.

"I was wondering what to do about Cloud; he seemed fine when he was awake earlier, but it also seems like Jenova can take control of him whenever she wants. It didn't seem like Hojo really _triggered_ him, just gave him an order, and then it took some time to kick in. Maybe distance will factor into how well she can control him, I don't know, but I'm sure that we haven't seen the last of that problem."

"I agree, the planet told me that her will is incredibly strong... I'm sure she can do it from a distance."

"So I was thinking about what we can do; it worked the first time, but I don't want to sedate him again. And I _won't_ tolerate him being hurt anymore." Sephiroth shot a glare at Vincent, who shrugged.

"I did what needed to be done. It was common sense. I wasn't going to kill him."

Sephiroth kissed Cloud's head in response. "I won't let him be hurt again. So I was thinking," Sephiroth turned back to Aerith, "Jenova controls her own cells that were implanted in Cloud's body. She tried to control mine the last time we were here, but it didn't work so well, because according to that letter from Hojo, we didn't bond properly."

"I think that's about right," Aerith said, and Tseng nodded his agreement.

"She must have bonded with Cloud, though, in order to be able to control him that well."

"Yeah... poor guy." Zack reached out to ruffle Cloud's hair, but Sephiroth shooed his hand away.

"But, I'm sure that the bond between Cloud and me is stronger than that. And I was wondering if you think it might be possible for me to use the Jenova cells that we've both got and..."

"You want to control him instead?" Aerith asked.

"Only if I had to!" Sephiroth struggled to keep his voice down. "If I could just, I don't know, shove Jenova out of the way when she's trying to make him fight."

"I _think_ it could work... You've spent a long time in the Lifestream; you could probably call on some of the planet's energy to sort of... override the controls."

"You're not actually saying it's a good idea, are you, Aerith?" Zack said.

"Why not? It's better that having Cloud attack us against his will."

"But, controlling his body... Cloud would hate that!"

"I'll talk to him about it first, of course. And you _know_ I wouldn't take advantage of it. Right?" Sephiroth had to ask.

"I know you wouldn't, but still, it's a pretty big violation, don't you think?"

"It is," Aerith agreed, "But he's already having his mind violated. Two wrongs don't make a right, but in this case, we're simply choosing the lesser of two evils because there is no better option. Sedating him all the time isn't healthy at all. And I don't think I can block Jenova from him. She's too strong."

"Aerith is right," Tseng spoke up, "I looked at what was in that tranquilizer; we don't want to give him that too often. There were enough drugs in it to take down a Grand Horn."

Zack just grumbled, "I don't like it, but if you talk to him first, and he agrees, I guess."

"I'll think about how it might work and see if I can give you some instructions," Aerith said. "It might be best to try it first when it's not an emergency. It'd be less likely that you'd hurt yourselves then."

"That's probably a good plan." Sephiroth finished off the last of his sandwiches and set the plate aside. "Tseng, tomorrow I want you to go back to the mansion. I need you to get a staple remover from the lab; Cloud's got some staples in his skull and I want to get them out and heal him properly before he gets even more scars."

Tseng nodded. "I can do that."

"I also need you to look for any journals or notes Hojo kept. I need to know what else was done to him."

"You're right. If you want, I'll read anything I find and just pass on the relevant information. Hojo's a twisted man and I'm certain you don't want to know absolutely everything he came up with."

Sephiroth's breath hitched as he looked down at Cloud resting peacefully. He _didn't_ want to know exactly why and how Cloud got all those scars, he knew that, but... "I should. If Cloud survived it all, I can read about it. I'm not going to run away from what was done to him."

"Think about it," Tseng said. "I, for one, don't think it would be running away. Just saving yourself a lot of meaningless pain."

"I'll consider it."

"I'll take Vincent with me as backup. I don't like the idea of being down there alone. And you know your way around there pretty well, don't you?"

"I do," Vincent said.

"I trust that you got something resembling a story from him?" Sephiroth asked.

"I did. I believe he's trustworthy. I can explain it to you later."

"Fair enough." Sephiroth didn't like the strange man, but he trusted Tseng's judgment.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Aerith?" Zack asked.

"Oh, well, um..." Aerith fidgeted a bit and looked up at Sephiroth. "The planet spoke to me a bit, when I was trying to get you out the Lifestream and again after Jenova knocked me out and... well, it wants you to do something for it. It thinks you owe it for letting you live."

"What does it want?" Sephiroth asked cautiously.

"It... it doesn't like Jenova. She's tainting the Lifestream. Those things we saw, in the black cloaks, those are clones. Made with Cloud's DNA and hers. I don't know what they're doing, but they're following Jenova's orders and the planet is sure that it's not going to be good. You see, Jenova was the Calamity that came from the sky two thousand years ago. She's the thing that tried to destroy everything and she wants to succeed this time."

"She's an alien?" Zack sounded incredulous.

"Well, she's not from this planet, so, yes. Anyway, the planet wants her gone. It wants you to destroy her."

"And it wants me to do it because I owe it?"

"That's what it says. But it's really because you're probably the only person strong enough to do it."

"I can't leave Cloud."

"I'm not saying we have to go right away, I'm sure there's time to wait for Cloud to recover."

"We?"

"Of course we." Aerith smacked the lump under the blankets that was his knee. "I'm not going to tell you to do this and just send you off alone. This is a fight for _our_ planet, Sephiroth. We'll all help you, won't we?"

Zack and Tseng nodded and even Vincent gave a slight bob of his head.

"I wouldn't let you leave me out of this, Seph," Zack said firmly.

"If Jenova has Hojo on her side, or under her control, we're going to need a lot more than just us," Tseng said.

"What do you mean?" Zack asked.

"Hojo breeds monsters. He created those clones. He could create a whole army of things to protect Jenova, if he hasn't already."

"And also..." Aerith looked a little sad. "I think the only way that Cloud will ever be free of her influence is if she's gone. Same goes for you, Sephiroth."

"I'll do it if Cloud agrees." Sephiroth looked down at Cloud again. "Just tell me how."

"I will. I'll explain everything. But first I'll see if I can teach you how to control Cloud's Jenova-cells."

***

The door shut softly behind Aerith after she let herself out. Sephiroth still wasn't sure if he understood, all that talk of reaching out with his mind had just hurt. He was much better at practical things. Still, if he could help Cloud, he'd do his best.

"Did you hear any of that, Cloud?" he asked quietly. "You know I'd never take advantage of it, right? I just don't want her to be able to make you do something you don't want to do."

Cloud shifted against him and Sephiroth saw a pair of glowing blue eyes crack open.

"Sorry, Cloud. I didn't mean to disturb you. Go back to sleep." Sephiroth reached out to brush a few strands of hair out of Cloud's eyes, but Cloud jerked back with a snarl. "Cloud?"

The glowing blue eyes blinked and the pupils slowly narrowed into cat-like slits. "Traitor," Cloud hissed.

Sephiroth moved quickly, since he already had an arm wrapped around Cloud, and he pinned Cloud's arms to his sides and threw his weight on top of him. Cloud struggled loudly, but he couldn't get a good enough grip to throw Sephiroth off.

Light from the hallway flooded the room as the door banged open and Sephiroth heard Alde start shrieking at him to get off. She was pulling on his shoulders and, fortunately, not doing a very good job of it.

"Help!" Sephiroth yelled for his friends. He heard them on the stairs and hoped they would get there before Alde thought of going for his eyes or something.

" _You're_ yelling for help? Get off of him, you monster!" Alde pulled at his hair and Sephiroth just fought to keep Cloud under him.

Sephiroth heard more people running into the room and felt Alde get pulled back. It sounded like Tseng was trying to calm her down. Zack rushed over and pinned Cloud's legs, which had started to work themselves free. Cloud howled in frustration.

"Sephiroth," Aerith said, "Try it. Just do what I told you and it'll be fine. Zack, keep Cloud pinned so Sephiroth can concentrate."

"Trying," Zack grunted.

Vincent came over and grabbed Cloud's shoulders, holding him down. Before Sephiroth could say anything, Vincent spoke. "I won't hurt him, just do whatever you're going to do."

Sephiroth shut his eyes and concentrated, reaching out to Cloud with his mind. He did as Aerith told him and thought back to when he had been in the Lifestream. He had been connected to everything then. It was just a matter of finding that connection again. He searched for that familiar buzzing sound that was Jenova and pushed past it, to Cloud's consciousness.

Sephiroth felt for his own Jenova cells, which, until Aerith had explained it to him, he hadn't realized he used all the time. It was good though, she had said, he had more practice than Cloud. His cells would be the stronger ones. As he reached for them, he felt a sort of longing to be reunited and they took hold of Cloud's mind with little thought on Sephiroth's part. The feeling was much the same as it had been when he had been searching for Cloud in the labs, only stronger now. Cloud was terrified, he could tell that immediately. _Calm down_ , he ordered as forcefully as he dared. Cloud's mind seemed to pause, trembling. _Shh, just be still. I'm not going to hurt you, Cloud._ Sephiroth felt Cloud's body still beneath him as well.

Aerith had warned him not to push the connection too hard. She worried that there might be a risk of their minds merging together. So Sephiroth didn't say anything more; he just pulled Cloud out of Zack and Vincent's grasps and held him tightly in his arms. After what seemed like an infinitely long time, Sephiroth felt Jenova's presence begin to grow weaker until finally, it was gone.

He tried to withdraw from Cloud's mind gently, but a sudden shove, both mental and physical, sent him reeling. Sephiroth's eyes flew open and he saw Cloud scrambling away from him with wild eyes.

"What did you—You—Why—" Cloud curled himself into a ball in the corner, holding his head. Alde rushed over to his side and tried to hold him, but Cloud just screamed, "Don't touch me!"

"Cloud—" Aerith started to say, but that only caused Cloud to look up and see all the people in the room.

His eyes darted wildly from person to person. "Get away, get away, get away, GET AWAY!" Cloud screamed as loud as he could.

"Everyone out," Sephiroth ordered as he stood up.

"Sephiroth, we need to calm him down," Aerith said.

"I know, and I will. But everyone needs to leave."

Alde stood steadfast. "I am _not_ leaving you alone with him!"

"Zack, get her out of here even if you have to drag her." Sephiroth stood between Cloud and everyone else and watched, as Zack really did have to drag Alde out. When Tseng shut the door behind them, leaving them in the dark once again, Sephiroth turned back to Cloud and sat down on the floor, still a ways away from him.

"Cloud," he said very softly, "Can you see? It's just me. Everyone else is gone."

"Y—you—you—you—" Cloud seemed stuck on the one word, but Sephiroth felt it summed up fairly well what he had done without permission. _You._

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I'm truly sorry. Will you let me explain?"

"You—What—what did you do?" Cloud looked up at him with plaintive eyes and clutched at his knees, trembling.

Sephiroth sighed, "I used my Jenova cells to control you, instead of allowing Jenova to control you herself. I had thought of it earlier and was going to discuss it with you, but then... I shouldn't have. Not without your permission. It would have been better to sedate you again."

"You—you _controlled_ me? You can make me do whatever you want?" Cloud's voice shook with fear.

"Cloud," Sephiroth said firmly, "I would _never_ make you do something against your will. I only did it to stop Jenova from forcing you to do things."

"But you—you _could_."

Sephiroth nodded, he wasn't going to lie. "I _could_ , but I _won't_. Please believe that, Cloud. I _won't_ hurt you. And I _won't_ take advantage of you."

Cloud just stared, occasionally blinking away the tears that were falling from his eyes and Sephiroth wished that he could go over there to brush them away. But he was pretty sure that was one of the worst things he could do right now. Instead, he moved very slowly, keeping his hands where Cloud could see them, and grabbed the chocobo off the bed. Cloud visibly tensed when he moved, but he didn't panic, so that was good. Sephiroth set Mini-Cloud down on the floor between them and gave it a shove in Cloud's direction. Cloud cautiously reached out and picked it up before hugging it tightly.

Sephiroth had learned during their time together that Cloud was a very physical person. He liked being held and hugged; even now, when he was feeling so traumatized, he needed something to hold onto. A stuffed animal would do until he could handle a real person.

"Will you let me explain what happened and why I decided to calm you down that way, instead of doing something else?"

Cloud stared at him a few moments longer before slowly nodding his head. Since Sephiroth wasn't sure how much Cloud really remembered from when Jenova was controlling him, and he'd have to do it sooner or later, Sephiroth decided to explain it all, starting from when he woke up in the Lifestream. He left quite a bit out, but it was still a long story. By the time he had slogged his way through all the important parts, Cloud seemed to have calmed down significantly. He was still clutching Mini-Cloud tightly, but only with one arm. The other was stroking the felt ruff on the chocobo's head and his eyes were a lot less panicked-looking.

"I didn't mean to scare you, or violate you in any way," Sephiroth said. "I just wanted to stop Jenova and I didn't want you to get hurt in the process. It seemed like the safest way, but that was a mistake. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"I—I don't want to hurt anyone," Cloud said quietly. "Especially not you."

"I know. But we can figure something else out, I'm sure."

"I don't like being sedated... it's scary waking up... And if you have to fight me, one of us, at least, will end up hurt."

"Cloud..."

"What if there are civilians around? I could hurt or kill someone." Cloud sat still for a long, long moment. "I want rules," he declared suddenly.

"What sort of rules?" Was Cloud going to allow this?

Cloud fidgeted with Mini-Cloud before dropping the toy and patting the floor beside him. Sephiroth moved closer cautiously, making sure it was what Cloud really wanted. When he was near enough, Cloud tugged on his arm and pulled it around him. Sephiroth embraced Cloud gently and kissed his forehead a few times. Cloud rested his head on Sephiroth's shoulder and hummed.

"No one but you is allowed to touch me."

"Okay."

"You're not allowed to do it for anything but Jenova trying to control me."

"Of course."

"Don't make me _do_ anything. Just make me be still."

"Okay."

Cloud hummed again, thinking. "And you have to hold me."

"I can do that. Anything else you can think of, just tell me." Sephiroth stroked Cloud's arm. "And if we do it again and it's too much, tell me. We'll think of something else."

Cloud nodded slowly. "I will." He scooted a bit closer and wrapped his hand around Sephiroth's. "Life... kind of sucks, doesn't it?"

"It did for a while, but it's getting better now."

"Really? Because I can still hear my mom arguing that you were doing _something_ untoward to me."

Sephiroth sighed. "Do you want to explain it to her, or should I try?"

"You think there's a hope that she'll listen to you? I'll explain. It's just a question of what."

"Do you want to tell her the truth?"

"I... I don't want to lie to her, but I don't think I want her to know everything, either. I think... I think I'll tell her about Jenova, but I won't say what you did. You just held me down. It was Jenova leaving and me realizing what had happened that freaked me out after."

"I think that seems reasonable. Having someone in your head is cause for freaking out."

"Yeah... no kidding."

"I _am_ sorry, Cloud."

"I know, I didn't mean it like that. And I forgive you, so don't worry about it. You did what had to be done."

"I just... it was like..."

"I know," Cloud squeezed Sephiroth's hand tightly. "I don't want to think about it. I've got enough new traumas to deal with."

"Do you want to talk about the new traumas?"

Cloud shook his head. "Not—not yet. But... when I'm ready, I'll come to you."

"All right. I'll be here." Sephiroth went to touch Cloud's head and jerked his hand back when Cloud winced. "Are you in pain?"

"Not really. Just my head hurts a bit. It's no big deal."

"I've asked Tseng to get a staple remover from the lab. We'll get those things out of your skull and heal it properly. I guess... I guess he didn't bother healing you; he just dumped you in a mako tank whenever he did enough damage?"

"Yeah." Cloud absently touched his chest where the largest of his scars were. "Mako kept me alive. That was what mattered. It didn't matter if it left a scar or not. Sometimes he said... never mind."

Sephiroth felt Cloud start to pull away from him and squeezed him tightly. "I love you, Cloud. Always."

Cloud sat rather stiffly in his grip, but he didn't try to pull away any further. "Tseng's going back to the lab?"

"Yeah, he's taking that asshole we found with him. They're going to get some supplies and look for Hojo's journals."

"H—h—his journals? About—about me?"

"Yeah... we need them, I need to know what he did to you. So I can help you."

"No, no, Sephiroth, please, no. Don't look. I—I—I can't. I can't—if you knew, it—it would be too much. Too much, Sephiroth, please, you can't." Cloud was shaking violently as he clutched at Sephiroth's shirt and pleaded with his tear-filled eyes.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. If you don't want me to, I won't read them." Cloud had really meant it when he said he had new traumas. At least now he wouldn't have to feel guilty for not wanting to read the journals. "I won't read them, but is it all right if Tseng does? We really do need to know what he did to you."

"I—I—I—"

"It's all right, we'll talk about it later, okay? Don't worry about it for now."

Cloud nodded tiredly and leaned into Sephiroth, curling into a small ball on his lap with tears still streaming down his face.

"Just rest for now," Sephiroth said quietly. "Just rest. We'll work it all out."

"Can't rest. Mom's gonna break down the door soon, I know it. Why did you bring me here, anyways?"

"You can rest for a few minutes at least." Sephiroth gently rubbed the curve of Cloud's back. "I brought you here because Zack suggested it and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I'm thinking the inn would have been a much better choice. But... she deserved to know that you were alive."

"Was she worried about me?"

"Very much. She thought I had kidnapped you and made you my sex-slave or something."

"I think she reads too many books. But kidnapped and tortured by a mad scientist isn't a whole lot less weird, I suppose."

"It's not something most people would come up with as their first option, that's for sure." Sephiroth glanced around the room for something he could use to wipe Cloud's eyes and ended up just grabbing a pillow off the bed. He shook it out of the case and gently dried the remaining tears. "Feeling a bit better?"

Cloud nodded. "Thanks. I guess we should call her back in here. Try to explain."

"I don't mind if you make her wait the rest of the night."

"You'd probably love that." Cloud sighed heavily, "You don't think I have to move, do you? I'm comfy here."

"I think she can cope, and if she can't, that's too bad. Should we call her?" Sephiroth grabbed his PHS off the nightstand. "I don't feel like shouting or getting up," he added as an explanation.

"Go for it. I think I know what I'm going to say."

Sephiroth dialled Zack's number and asked him to send Alde up.

***

Zack hung up his flashy phone and turned to face Alde. "That was Sephiroth," he said. "He says you can go up now."

"Oh does he? I'm allowed to go into my own son's room? In my own house? Is he sure? It might be best to wait for written permission." Alde angrily set down the cup of tea that had been forced on her; as if that would make her feel better about walking in on Cloud being assaulted.

"Don't be like that, ma'am," Zack pleaded. "I know Sephiroth's a bit possessive and he comes off rather strong, but he only wants what's best for Cloud. Having all of us in the room wasn't going to calm Cloud down."

"Hmph." Alde could tell that the boy believed he was telling the truth. It wouldn't be worth it to argue with him. She stood and straightened out her housecoat; at least she had been allowed to retrieve _that_ before being hauled downstairs and force fed tea. She marched up the stairs and threw the door to Cloud's bedroom open. She immediately regretted it when her son flinched and clung to the man whose lap he was sitting in.

They were sitting on the floor; Sephiroth's legs were crossed and Cloud was curled up in his lap like some sort of pet. Sephiroth was even petting him! It wasn't that Cloud was gay; she had been able to come to terms with that fairly easily. But it was the fact that he was with _Sephiroth_. Why couldn't he have met a nice boy his own age? One who _wasn't_ in a position of power over him?

"Hi, Mom." Cloud's voice cracked and Sephiroth immediately reached for the glass of water that was on the nightstand. Alde attempted to get to it first, but that man was too fast and was holding it to Cloud's lips before she even got halfway across the room.

"Hi, honey." Alde sat on the edge of the bed. "Why don't you come sit up here with me?" She patted the mattress beside her.

"No, I'm good here." _Sephiroth_ certainly seemed happy about Cloud's answer. Alde could have sworn she saw him smirk at her. He set the glass down beside them and went back to _petting_ her son.

Alde sighed, feeling a little rejected. "Are you all right, Cloud? What happened to you? Why were you so upset? Why did you want me to go away? What was _he_ doing to you?"

"You could give him a chance to answer." Sephiroth glared at her. _Glared_ at her!

"You're the one who's not letting him talk! I want to know what happened!" Alde retorted.

Now Sephiroth was the one who was sighing. "Just... give him a minute. He can't explain if you overload him with questions. He's still tired."

"Maybe if you didn't sexually assault him while he's asleep—"

"Mom! Mom, that – that wasn't what happened. I—just listen, please."

"I'm listening, baby. I'm listening."

"Okay, um, I..." Cloud hesitated and fell silent, but Sephiroth leaned down and whispered something in his ear that Alde couldn't hear. Cloud nodded and looked back up at her. "When we were here last, a man named P—Pro—Professor H—H—named P—"

"Professor Hojo," Sephiroth interrupted, but Cloud turned and smiled at him gratefully.

"Named that. He—he set a trap for us... Sephiroth and Zack were knocked unconscious and he—he killed Marcus. Shot him in the back." Cloud paused and fiddled with a pillowcase he was holding while Sephiroth petted him some more. Alde waited patiently; that Tseng person had told her all this, but it was probably easiest for Cloud to start from the beginning. "We... we should do something. For him. Does his family even know?"

"I think so. Tseng had all of us listed as 'killed in action'. Although, apparently they're dragging their feet about notifying next of kin, since you weren't informed, were you?" Sephiroth looked up at Alde questioningly. She shook her head, no. She was enormously grateful that she hadn't gotten that letter. Although, not knowing had been bad enough. "We can do something. And I'll make sure his family knows he died a hero."

"Being a hero sucks."

"That it does," Sephiroth sighed again.

"I was taken to the lab, where H—Ho—where he experimented on me. I don't know what he did to me, really. But the end result is a creature called Jenova can control my mind and make me fight against my will. She—I'm supposed to kill Sephiroth. H—he said that Sephiroth was a failed experiment..." Cloud's voice trailed away again and he seemed lost in his memories. Alde was about to say something, but Sephiroth beat her to it, once again.

"You're doing great, Cloud." Sephiroth was petting Cloud's _head_ now. "Keep going, you're doing great."

"Right. I can do this." Cloud took a deep breath. "Jenova can control me. Not all the time, but sometimes, and we don't know when it's going to happen. It happened just before you came in. I woke up and tried to attack Sephiroth. He was just holding me down so I couldn't hurt anyone. Honestly. He wasn't hurting me or doing anything that I wouldn't have wanted him to do. I know it looked bad, but it was either that, or they would have had to sedate me again. I wouldn't have wanted that. And... and after Jenova stopped controlling me, I had a bit of a panic attack. I mean, there was something in my mind, making me do things I didn't want to do. Anyone would freak out."

"But... you calmed down. And the others let go, and you were calm for a while, and _then_ you got upset." At Sephiroth. Cloud had pushed himself out of Sephiroth's lap to escape him.

"I—I—um, it was a bit weird, when she first let me go. I didn't really realize what happened, but then when I realized, I freaked. I—I just didn't want anyone to touch me for a while."

"So Sephiroth didn't touch you after he kicked everyone out?" Alde was doubtful. Cloud was leaving something out, she could tell. And while he didn't _seem_ upset anymore, who knew what Sephiroth had said to him while they were alone? Cloud was remarkably good at hiding when things were bothering him.

"No, Mom, he didn't. He sat all the way across the room and just talked to me until I calmed down a bit. And then he gave me Mini-Cloud to hold." Cloud waved a stuffed chocobo at her. Its name was 'Mini-Cloud'? And she was supposed to believe that these people _weren't_ picking on him? "And _then_ , when I said it was okay, he came closer and held me. Only when I said it was okay."

"Cloud..." Alde wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to insist that Cloud tell her the truth; what if Sephiroth took it out on him later? It didn't seem like he would ever hit Cloud, but Alde knew a fair bit about emotional abuse.

"Anyways, that's what happened. Sorry we scared you. I didn't mean to." Cloud sat up a bit and yawned, resting his head on Sephiroth's shoulder.

"That's okay, Cloud. Thank you for telling me." Sephiroth was scratching behind Cloud's ears now and Alde finally snapped. "Would you _stop_ doing that!? He's not your pet dog!"

Sephiroth paused, looking startled. "Stop doing what?"

"You keep petting him and stroking his hair like he's some sort of animal!"

Sephiroth looked at his offending hand like he hadn't even realized he had been doing it. "I wasn't—I mean, I don't think—Does it bother you, Cloud?" he asked with something that sounded suspiciously like genuine concern.

"I _like_ it, Mom. He's not treating me like a dog or doing anything else but show he cares for me. It calms me down." Cloud sounded rather annoyed when he spoke and Alde hesitated. She lost her chance to argue back when Cloud yawned again. "I'm exhausted, Mom. I want to go back to sleep. I'm sure you're tired too. Goodnight."

Alde marvelled at how Sephiroth was somehow able to stand without using his arms while he still held onto Cloud. Sephiroth whispered in Cloud's ear again and Cloud nodded. He walked out of the room without a backwards glance and Alde heard the bathroom door shut a moment later. She sighed and stood up off the bed. When she passed the bathroom, she waited for the toilet to stop flushing before calling out softly.

"Goodnight, Cloud. I love you."

"'Night, Mom. I love you too."

"Goodnight, Alde."

Alde glared at the door, but answered anyways; Cloud would appreciate it. "Goodnight, Sephiroth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: non-consensual mind control.


	10. Chapter 10

Cloud slept. He slept like he hadn't slept in months, which was true, sort of. He had never slept well in the labs, that was for sure. And every time he had been jolted out of his sleep by a fear of _something_ during the night, that warm, comforting presence was still beside him. Still holding him protectively. Keeping him safe. Every time he cried out and couldn't stop the tremors from wracking his body, Sephiroth was murmuring in his ear and stroking his hair. Whispering that it was all right now.

It wasn't all right. It would never be all right. But for now, Cloud allowed himself to believe. He would live in his fantasy world for one night, before Sephiroth realized what he had become and shunned him, just like Hojo said he would.

"Cloud. Cloud," Sephiroth was whispering softly and shaking Cloud's shoulder, ever so gently. "You need to wake up now."

Cloud hummed and kept his eyes shut. If he didn't wake up, he could believe that this was just another morning. They were in Sephiroth's apartment and they had made love all night, which was why he was so tired, and why his muscles ached. But Cloud had fallen asleep on Sephiroth's arm, so he couldn't get up to go make waffles.

"Cloud, come on, you've slept long enough. You need to eat something."

"Don't want to..." Cloud mumbled. Maybe the waffles were already made and Sephiroth wanted him to eat before they got cold. He could almost smell them...

"Why not? You only had soup last night, Cloud. You're too thin; I need you to eat. If you're still tired after you've eaten, you can go back to sleep."

Cloud attempted to shake his head resolutely, but it hurt too much to move it. "If I wake up, it'll be real."

"Cloud..." Sephiroth sounded like he was struggling not to cry when he spoke. "I'm sorry, Cloud. I'm so sorry, but you can't sleep forever. I need you here with me."

"No... you don't."

There was a raking sound and Cloud's vision burned red behind his eyelids. He squeezed them tight and pressed his face into Sephiroth's chest.

"Like hell, he doesn't, Spiky." Zack's voice cut through Cloud's fantasy with all the sharpness of Masamune. Sephiroth would never let Zack into the room if they were just waking up as usual. He would know that it would embarrass Cloud. "You should have seen him when he thought you were dead. I don't think the forest around Mideel will ever be the same. He needs you a lot like he needs his lungs, so wake up and eat your breakfast."

Cloud squirmed uncomfortably and pressed his hands over his ears. Zack was too loud; it hurt.

"Just set the tray on the nightstand, Zack," Sephiroth said quietly. "I'll get him to eat."

"Righty-o, General." Cloud heard a loud clatter as a tray was set down and then Zack appeared to leave the room.

"You're not used to it, are you?"

Cloud hummed again, questioning.

"The sensitivity. Your hearing, your sight, you haven't really had a chance to adapt yet, have you?"

Cloud slowly shook his head. "It's too loud. The lights are too bright."

"Keep your eyes closed." Cloud felt Sephiroth shift out from beside him. A blanket was placed next to his face and Cloud covered his eyes with it. The raking sound was quieter as Sephiroth drew the curtains closed again, much more slowly than Zack had opened them. It was still painfully loud, though. "It'll take some time... to get used to being a SOLDIER. I don't remember it myself; I don't think I ever went through it, actually, but I know that most new Third Classes have a pretty rough time of it." Cloud felt Sephiroth's weight settle on the bed next to him again. "I'll let the others know that you're still adjusting. Try opening your eyes now; the curtains are still open a little bit, but it shouldn't be too bad."

Cloud opened his eyes, and, bit-by-bit, they adjusted to the dim light coming from the window. He didn't want to look directly at the window, but looking around the room was fine. He even managed to sit up in the bed, leaning against the headboard.

"Doing all right?"

Cloud nodded slowly. "Sorry."

Sephiroth just gave him a _look_ and took a plate of toast off the tray Zack had left. He placed it on Cloud's lap. "Try eating a bit. Did Ho— _he_ give you real food? Or was it all nutrients given to you in the mako solutions?"

"I had real food for a while, but then it stopped when he started putting me in the tank more often." Cloud picked up a piece of toast; there were a couple slices with just butter on them, and a couple with jam as well. He went for the plain butter first. The thought of food was somewhat nauseating.

"That explains why you're so thin. He probably gave you enough to keep you alive and that was it." Sephiroth sounded extremely bitter when he said that. "Your stomach's probably shrunk quite a bit, so you won't be able to eat a lot. Try to eat as much as you can, though."

Cloud nodded and took a small bite of the toast. It was cold by now, but it still managed to be delicious. He finished one piece and took a deep breath, staring at the plate. He wasn't sure if he could handle another.

Sephiroth held out a glass of orange juice. "Drink." Cloud took a few sips, then handed the glass back. "Did you spend a lot of time in the tank?"

"Yeah," Cloud said, grateful for the distraction from eating, even if it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "When I wasn't—when he wasn't—when he wasn't... dissecting me or something, and when I wasn't being forced to fight something, he kept me in the tank."

"I see." Sephiroth shifted a bit closer and put his arm around Cloud's shoulders. "That explains why you haven't adapted to the sensory overload yet—Jenova was controlling you when you were forced to fight?"

"Yeah."

"It'll take a few days, maybe a week, but then you'll be just fine. Welcome to SOLDIER, Cloud."

Cloud ducked his head and grabbed another piece of toast. "I'm not a SOLDIER."

"Bullshit. You've got the skills and you've got the enhancements; we'll get you a uniform later."

Cloud didn't say anything, just munched on the toast, but he knew Sephiroth was just trying to make him feel better. He wasn't a SOLDIER. He'd never be a SOLDIER. He was just a scarred science experiment now.

"Cloud," Sephiroth spoke again after a while, "I was thinking about the rules we agreed on last night, and I don't want to change any of them, but I was wondering if we might be able to make an exception to the second one. The one about not doing it unless Jenova is attacking. If you're all right with it, I'd like to be able to practice a couple of times when I'm not under pressure. It's a bit tricky and I don't want to hurt you."

Cloud poked at a third piece of toast. He didn't want jam. He tried scraping it off on the edge of the plate, but there was still more jam on the toast than not. "Can I have some more juice?"

"Of course." Sephiroth handed him the glass and Cloud took several large sips.

He looked over at what was on the rest of the tray: scrambled eggs and some bacon. He could handle bacon. "Can I have the bacon?" he asked.

Sephiroth took the glass back and handed over the plate of bacon. Cloud took one bite and felt his stomach turn; maybe he couldn't handle bacon. Maybe he should stop trying to avoid Sephiroth's question instead of trying to force himself to eat when he wasn't hungry. It was a reasonable request. Cloud imagined that controlling someone's mind was a tricky business. Do it wrong and maybe his brain would explode. At least then he'd be dead and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Why hadn't Hojo just let him die? Time and time again, he thought that everything was over; it was too much and his body couldn't take it anymore. And then he'd wake up, suspended in that awful tank, breathing chemicals and burning all over as the mako forced him to heal.

"Shh, Cloud, hush, you're all right."

Cloud opened his eyes. The plate of bacon was gone and he was in Sephiroth's lap, being rocked gently. He hadn't realized, but he was gasping for air and he felt tears running down his face. "I—I—I—"

"Shh, it's all right, you don't have to explain. I understand."

Cloud shook his head, trying to clear the memories. "I think you should practice," he said.

"Thank you," Sephiroth whispered. "We'll wait until you've calmed down. Do you mind if I ask Aerith to supervise?"

"No, that would be okay, I think. She... she knows what to do?"

"Well, she guesses at what to do. And her guesses are a lot better than mine."

"It's so nice to know that my brain is in the hands of professionals."

"I thought you'd be heartened by that. Nothing but the best for my Cloud. Speaking of which, Tseng should be coming back with a staple remover sometime soon."

"Can't wait," Cloud said dryly. "Who's going to guess at that?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure there are a few medical texts lying around that he'll bring back as well. I'm really quite smart, you know."

Cloud managed a grin. "I've heard a rumour about that... never seen any evidence of it, though."

"You doubt my medical prowess? I'm wounded, Cloud." Sephiroth wiped the few remaining tears away from Cloud's cheeks with his thumb. "Don't worry, I've seen plenty of staples being removed. We'll get you fixed up."

"I trust you. I'd rather you do it than a doctor."

"That's kind of what I figured."

Cloud tilted his head up and looked at Sephiroth; that was strange. Why hadn't he noticed it before? "Your eyes... they're green."

Sephiroth smiled oddly. "Yeah, I think the Lifestream changed them. Zack's are still the same, though."

"They're pretty." Cloud reached up and touched the side of Sephiroth's face. "I like them."

"Thanks. I wasn't sure what you'd think about them. Changing eye-colours is pretty weird."

"It's not as weird as _some_ changes." Cloud shuffled uncomfortably. He couldn't tell; Sephiroth would be disgusted.

"Whatever changes Hojo made to you have nothing to do with who you are, Cloud. Or how I feel about you. You know that, right?"

"You don't know. You can't know."

"I—Never mind, I love you, Cloud. Please believe that. No matter what Hojo did to you, I'll still love you."

"I... I know." Cloud _wished_ he could believe it, but... "I love you too."

***

"The bathroom's probably the best place to do it."

"I think you're right. I'll put everything in there."

"Thanks, Tseng. Is Aerith feeling up to healing him? Or should I?"

"She said she would do it this morning."

"All right. Ask her to come up whenever she's ready." Sephiroth went back into Cloud's room and sat down on the bed, looking at the instructions in the medical text Tseng had brought. It was simple enough. He was sure he could do it without a problem. Sterilize the area, then bend the staples and pull them out. Painless. He hoped.

Sephiroth reached over to Cloud and gently touched his face. "Cloud?" Cloud stirred slightly and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He must have been exhausted. "If you're ready, we can take out those staples now."

"Okay," Cloud mumbled and sat up. He groggily untangled himself from the blankets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"We'll do it in the bathroom." Sephiroth took Cloud by the elbow and helped him stand. He didn't really appear to need it, but it didn't hurt to be safe. He led Cloud into the bathroom and got him seated on the toilet. Cloud was squinting at the bright light, but he needed good lighting in order to see properly for this. "This shouldn't hurt; apparently it's a sort of 'tugging' sensation, but it shouldn't hurt, so I want you to tell me if it does."

Cloud nodded his agreement and sat still while Sephiroth dabbed iodine on the entire area. "You know, we have some pliers in the shed that you could've used," he remarked when Sephiroth took the staple remover out of the sterile package.

Sephiroth looked at the tool in his hand; it did look an awful lot like needle-nose pliers. "That'd work well," Sephiroth said sarcastically. "Are you up to date on your tetanus shots?"

"Probably. I think I got more shots than everyone in this entire village did over the course of their lives. One of them must've been tetanus."

Right, there was that, wasn't there? "Well, we've got these now. Are you ready?"

"Can... can I, I dunno, hold on to you or something?" Cloud was shaking just a tiny bit as he spoke.

"Of course you can." Sephiroth stepped closer and Cloud wrapped his arms around his waist. He pressed his face into Sephiroth's stomach and appeared to be hanging on for dear life. It actually worked rather well; it was keeping Cloud's head still and Sephiroth could see the wound perfectly. Sephiroth rubbed Cloud's back for a few moments. "Okay, here we go." He gripped the first staple with the pliers and bent it easily, like the book had shown, and then very carefully pulled it out. "Doing okay?"

"Yeah, it didn't hurt."

"Good." Sephiroth dropped the staple in the basin Tseng had left on the counter. The wound had begun oozing blood, which the book said it wasn't supposed to do, but Sephiroth supposed that was because they were taking the staples out before it was healed. He noticed Aerith poking her head in through the door and gestured her over. "Could you press some gauze on it?"

"Sure." Aerith grabbed another pair of gloves and put them on. "How're you feeling, Cloud?"

"All right. Be better when there isn't an giant hole in my skull." Cloud's voice was muffled by Sephiroth's shirt.

"It's not _that_ giant. I can barely see your brain."

Sephiroth shot Aerith a glare, but she stuck out her tongue at him and he decided to just get on with the removal. The next three came out as easily as the first, but the one after proved a bit more difficult. Cloud whimpered when it finally came free. Aerith was going through a lot of gauze and she mouthed at him to hurry up when he hesitated.

"Only two left, Cloud. Are you still all right?"

"Just do it."

Sephiroth pulled out the last two as quickly as he could and then took over pressing the gauze to Cloud's head while Aerith prepared to cast. Aerith motioned for him to move the gauze and he did, watching as a green light enveloped the area. As soon as the spell stopped, he grabbed a fresh piece of gauze and wiped the blood away.

"It looks fine, Cloud," he said. "Good as new." He hugged Cloud tightly and bent down to kiss his forehead. He grabbed a cloth and washed away the rest of the blood and iodine while Cloud sat there looking rather vacant. Sephiroth sighed, hoping that Cloud would be able to talk about what happened soon. He didn't know what to do to make Cloud feel more comfortable; it seemed that no matter how many reassurances he gave, Cloud was still afraid that Sephiroth was going to reject him. "It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"

"No. Can I go back to my room now?"

"Sure. Let's go." Cloud swayed a bit as he made his way over to the door, and Sephiroth took hold of his elbow once again. Aerith followed them into the room and sat, cross-legged on the end of the bed while Sephiroth helped Cloud get settled. "Do you think we could try practicing a bit now?" Cloud just sighed and nodded, so Sephiroth added, "We don't have to if you're not feeling up to it."

"No," Aerith said. "You should do it now. Sorry, Cloud, but we really need to. I don't want Sephiroth to hurt you if he's under pressure and doesn't know what he's doing."

"Whatever," Cloud sighed, "Just do it and let me go back to sleep."

"Okay, I want you to start out slowly, Sephiroth. Just gently touch his mind, then back off."

Sephiroth nodded and gathered Cloud's unresisting body into his arms. At least Cloud appeared to be calm. Or perhaps he was just resigned. There had been a time when he was younger that he decided that the easiest way to deal with being in the lab was to simply go limp. Maybe Cloud had come to the same conclusion. "I'm not going to hurt you, Cloud," he said firmly. "I promise. I'm going to do exactly what Aerith said, touch your mind, then back away."

Cloud simply nodded and twisted his hand into Sephiroth's hair. "I'm ready."

"Don't fight him, Cloud," Aerith instructed. "Just relax."

"I said I'm ready!" Cloud snapped. "I'm not an idiot!"

"I didn't mean—"

"It's fine, Aerith. He's good." Sephiroth stroked Cloud's head soothingly and felt Cloud relax a bit against his chest. He shut his eyes and reached out with his mind once more. Almost immediately, he connected with Cloud and felt a wave of absolute terror wash over him. That was what Cloud was feeling; _he_ was making Cloud feel that way. He only kept the connection for maybe a second, before he pulled away. "Shh, good job. You did great, Cloud. I know it was scary, but you did great." Sephiroth felt himself trembling from the remnants of the fear Cloud had been feeling.

"Try it again," Aerith said. "See if you can maintain the connection a little bit longer this time."

"Just give us a minute." Sephiroth knew that Aerith was only helping them, and he _had_ asked her to, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit annoyed at her presence. She didn't know what it was like, and she didn't have any real idea of what he was doing to Cloud. Sephiroth knew by now when Cloud needed him to slow down or wait. And he was definitely getting that impression now. He rocked Cloud gently and murmured in his ear that it was okay, he was doing great. "Cloud, when we try it next, could you try thinking something to me? Just to see if I can hear it."

"You... want to read my mind?"

"No," Sephiroth said firmly. The last thing Cloud needed was an invasion of his private thoughts. "I'm _certain_ that I can't do anything like that. But I can feel your emotions and, with Jenova, I was able to sort of think at her, but it was a conscious decision on my part. I'm just wondering if we can do the same sort of thing, so that if you need me to stop, you can just think it and I will."

"I... okay. You want me to think 'stop' or something?"

"Maybe a different word would be better. Because I imagine, if Jenova's in your head, you're going to be screaming at _her_ to stop."

"You want a safe-word," Aerith said. "Just pick something random, but it should be easy to remember and it shouldn't be something that will come up in conversation."

Sephiroth glanced around the room for inspiration... what would be a good word? "How about 'train set'?"

Cloud looked up at him quizzically.

"What? It's right there on the dresser."

"Okay," Cloud agreed.

"So, you think 'train set' at me and I'll know that you want me to get the hell out, right now."

"That's... yeah, I like that idea. I guess we just have to see if it works."

"Feel ready to try again?"

"Yep." Cloud rested his head back against Sephiroth's chest again and shut his eyes.

The fear wasn't quite as bad when Sephiroth made the connection this time, although it was still there. He waited for several long seconds. Maybe it wasn't working. He was just about to pull back when he heard the trembling voice of Cloud's mind.

 _Train set._

Sephiroth let go immediately.

Cloud was shaking rather violently, but he chanced a small smile at Sephiroth. "Did you hear it?"

"Yeah, I heard. That's great; so if you need me to stop for whatever reason, just think 'train set' and I'll let go right away."

"Thank you."

"Why don't we take a break? Do you want some more toast? Or maybe some soup?"

"Soup would be good."

"Sephiroth—" Aerith started.

"No, Aerith. We both need a break. I know you want us to get this done right away, but we need to go at our own pace." Sephiroth turned back to Cloud. "Do you want to come down with me? I think your mom's gone to the store; apparently we're eating her out of house and home... whatever that means. So it should be safe."

Cloud allowed himself a small laugh. "She's not _that_ bad."

"She called me a cradle-robber and a warmonger; she's _that_ bad."

"Really? She called you that?"

"She was a little upset. I called her a backwater hag, though, so I think we're even."

"You did?" Cloud laughed again. "You know, I'm kind of proud of you. It sounds like you guys had a pretty big fight, but you held your own. My mom's not a backwater hag, though. She's a backwater very nice lady."

"If you say so. So... you coming down to eat, or what?"

"Yeah, I'll come down. You told Zack to keep his voice down?"

"I told him. And your backwater very nice lady." Sephiroth took Cloud by the hand and led him downstairs with Aerith following. She still looked disapproving. Silence fell over the small living room as they walked by it on their way to the kitchen.

"How's it going, guys?" Zack asked.

"We're taking a break," Sephiroth replied. "Going to have some soup. Does anyone else want some?" he added as an afterthought.

"I'm good."

"I... wouldn't mind some soup," Vincent said quietly. "If you don't mind."

Sephiroth nodded and led Cloud to the kitchen. He saw Aerith go and sit down next to Zack, whispering something in his ear, and he heard them go outside a short while later. Cloud dragged a stool over and crawled up onto the counter. He sat there, still looking tired, and gave directions.

"Soup mix should be in that cupboard, probably the second shelf. And the pots are in that drawer."

Sephiroth set about making the soup, while he kept a concerned eye on Cloud. It was risky, he knew, taking a break like this. Aerith was right to be concerned. But he couldn't bring himself to push Cloud beyond his limits. Not with something like this. Vincent came in after a few minutes and started taking some dishes from the cupboards and setting them on the table.

"Tseng says that I should tell you my story myself. But he said to warn you that you probably won't like it."

"Figures," Sephiroth grunted. He opened the fridge to see if there was anything he could add to the soup. A couple of cooked chicken breasts were in the drawer; that would work. He set to work slicing them into chunks that would be large enough to easily pick out if Cloud couldn't eat them. "So what is it? What was so terrible that you had to hide from the world while other people suffered?"

"I wonder where to begin..."

Sephiroth just glared as he chopped the chicken. He wondered if learning about his mother was really worth the trouble. "Just... tell me about my mother. You said her name was Lucrecia?"

Cloud's head perked up. "Your mother?"

"Apparently. Our caped companion says she gave birth to me. Which makes sense after seeing that thing in the reactor."

"Yes, Lucrecia Crescent was your mother. She worked with Professors Gast and Hojo on the Jenova Project. I was assigned to Nibelheim as a bodyguard for the scientists. We... fell in love. But Hojo deceived her and well..."

Sephiroth dumped the chicken in the pot and covered it again before going to stand by Cloud. He leaned against the counter while Cloud wrapped his arms around him and rested his head on his shoulder. "Well what?"

"She broke it off with me and got married to Hojo. Shortly afterward she got pregnant," Vincent said it in a rush, like he was tearing off a bandaid. "Hojo convinced her to allow him to inject her and the fetus with Jenova cells. To make him the first test subject for Project J. I... don't know why she agreed. But she did."

So, his mother had _allowed_ him to be turned into a science fair project. Tseng was right; he didn't like this story at all.

"The experiments were terrible for her. She would have visions... visions of the things you would do in the future. They caused her tremendous pain. She would often collapse in agony."

Sephiroth was confused; was he supposed to feel sorry for her? For something she had willingly inflicted on herself? He squeezed Cloud's hand and held his tongue.

"When I confronted Professor Hojo about her condition, he shot and killed me."

"Dead?" Cloud asked, and Sephiroth fought back a grin at his perplexed tone.

"Yes. Dead. He used my corpse to experiment on, but decided I was a failure and discarded me. But Lucrecia still loved me; she tried to save me by injecting me with pure mako. It worked, but something went wrong and my body was out of my control. She put me in a mako tank and kept me unconscious until she was able to figure out how I could control the demons inside me. When I awoke next, I discovered that I was able to control my demons, but Lucrecia had disappeared after giving birth to a boy named Sephiroth. I don't know what happened to her; it's likely that Hojo killed her after she served her purpose. To atone for failing her, I locked myself in the coffin you found me in. I remained there for twenty-six years until Fair woke me up."

Sephiroth blinked slowly. He wasn't quite sure if he understood the thought process there. He was mildly curious about the things Lucrecia—he was _not_ calling her his mother—had had visions about, but he wasn't going to ask anytime soon. He didn't think he could handle another story.

"Sephiroth? Are you okay?" Cloud asked quietly.

"Yeah, Cloud, I'm fine. Let's have some soup, okay?"

"Okay." Cloud slid off the counter with a wince that he tried to hide from Sephiroth and sat down at the table. Sephiroth noted that Cloud was eating a bit better now; he even managed to eat a few pieces of chicken before he started fishing them out and dumping them in Sephiroth's bowl. If he kept making sure Cloud ate often, even if it was just a little bit at a time, he would be okay. Sephiroth was sure of it. Vincent ate a lot faster than they did, and excused himself from the awkward silence that had fallen over the kitchen since he finished relating his tale. Sephiroth couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he left.

"Was it just me," Cloud said softly, "Or did he seem a bit stalker-creepy?"

"It wasn't just you."

"Oh good." Cloud paused. "I'm sorry, Sephiroth. I know you were probably hoping—"

"It's okay. You're my family; that's good enough. I don't need a mother that would sacrifice me for a science project." It was true though, he _had_ been hoping. When Vincent had first mentioned that he had a real mother, he had allowed himself to hope that maybe... he snorted in disgust. What use was there in hoping for more? He had enough. Cloud was enough.


	11. Chapter 11

Cloud slurped his last spoonful of soup and sat back in his chair looking exhausted. Sephiroth had been extremely pleased that Cloud had managed a second serving, even if he just ate the broth the second time. Sephiroth was in the middle of cutting off a piece of his apple to see if Cloud could handle eating it, when Zack came in wearing his look that meant Sephiroth was in trouble.

"What is it, Zack?" he asked.

"At least you know you're in trouble; I suppose that's something." Zack pulled out a chair and sat down, looking pissed. "Any guesses as to why?"

"Zack, I don't have time for your games. I know Aerith's pissed off at me. I'm not an idiot. I also don't care."

"You don't care? You do realize that she nearly killed herself saving our lives and you've done _nothing_ but treat her like a burden? You've been a complete asshole to her simply because that thing she did that no one else could have done, didn't fit _your_ schedule. And now she's doing her absolute best to help Cloud and you won't even listen to what she's got to say."

Sephiroth grabbed Zack by the arm and hauled him out of his chair. He shoved him towards the back door and paused by Cloud's seat. "I'll be right back, Cloud. And I'm just going outside; call for me if you need anything."

"Okay," Cloud said sleepily. He folded his arms and lay his head down on them.

"Outside," Sephiroth snarled at Zack.

"Don't want Cloud to hear you get called out on your behaviour?" Zack said as soon as the door shut.

"Yes, Zack, I've been an asshole. I admit it. Happy? I was stressed about Cloud and worried sick and I treated everyone unfairly. I apologize for that."

"Well—"

"Shut up. I am _not_ , however, apologizing for how I've been handling this mind-control thing with Cloud. I realize that she's trying to help, and I appreciate that. But pushing Cloud past his limits, or continuing when he's had enough _isn't_ helpful. I'm invading his mind, Zack!"

"She said that—"

"I _do_ understand the urgency. I really do. And I'll push Cloud as hard as I can. But _she_ doesn't understand what Cloud's been through."

"And you do?"

"I was there, Zack! Yes, I understand! And I can feel it when I touch his mind. Everything that Cloud's been working so hard to move past is right there, on the surface. I am _not_ going to force myself on him to fit Aerith's schedule!"

"Whoa, Seph, calm down. It's not like that. Look, this is for _Cloud's_ benefit. And he agreed to it, didn't he?"

"No, Zack, it _is_ like that. And who the hell are you to tell Cloud that it isn't? Cloud may have agreed to it, but it doesn't mean that he likes it or that he's comfortable with it."

"I'm just saying that—"

"No. I don't want to hear whatever bullshit arguments you can come up with. This is more of a violation than the rape was and it kills me that I have to do it. So while neither of us are going to refuse, we _are_ going to go at our own pace. So fuck off."

"Fine, Sephiroth." Zack threw his hands in the air. "You win. Go ahead and ignore everyone who's trying to help you. I'm sure you'll do just fine on your own."

Sephiroth sighed, "Weren't you against this whole idea in the first place? Isn't it a little hypocritical of you to suddenly start claiming that it _isn't_ a violation? Cloud only agreed to it because he didn't want to hurt anyone. That doesn't mean he wants—"

" _SEPHIROTH!_ " Cloud shrieked from the kitchen.

The door didn't stand a chance as Sephiroth ignored its presence completely on his way inside. He saw Cloud clutching his head and pulling at his hair; an expression of agony was stitched across his face. "Cloud! Cloud what is it?" He really didn't need to ask, though. Cloud was fighting with Jenova for control. He knew it.

"Seph! Help, please! I can't—"

Sephiroth rushed over and pulled Cloud into his arms, but he hesitated to reach out with his mind.

"Please, Seph, just do it. She's angry, Seph. It hurts."

"Okay." Sephiroth reached for Cloud's consciousness. _Shh, be still_ , he whispered. As he tried to form a barrier with his own mind against Jenova's attack, Sephiroth felt Cloud's mind clutching at his. Cloud was mentally clinging to him, even though his body was limp. Sephiroth adjusted Cloud in his arms and rocked him. He had trouble concentrating on anything else that was going on outside their minds, so he gave up on that and just focused on keeping Cloud as calm as possible. He could feel Jenova trying to batter her way past him, and it hurt, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that she wasn't hurting Cloud anymore, and Sephiroth could tell that she had been. He murmured comforting thoughts to Cloud as they were battered by the storm of violence. Eventually, Sephiroth felt Jenova growing more and more tired, until she finally retreated.

 _It's okay now, Cloud. She's gone._ Sephiroth tried to pull back, but found that he couldn't. Cloud's mind was still tightly holding on to his. _Cloud? It's okay now. You can let go._

There was no response from Cloud, however, and Sephiroth began to worry. Was this what Aerith had been worried about when she mentioned the possibility of their minds merging? They still felt like two separate people, though, so maybe that wasn't quite it. He could feel that Cloud was still terrified; maybe he was just afraid that Jenova was going to come back. Sephiroth continued rocking Cloud in his arms. He was vaguely aware of people around him, but it took too much effort to focus on them. Instead, he continued his comforting thoughts and hoped that Cloud would calm down soon.

Sephiroth lost track of time as everything else faded into the background. The only things that existed were himself and Cloud, clinging tightly to each other in a void. He was aware of time passing, but only because he knew logically that time must be passing. He felt no discomfort from kneeling on what he knew was the hard kitchen floor and no desire to move when the fear that Cloud was feeling began to abate. _Cloud?_ Sephiroth hesitantly asked, _Are you all right?_

 _Y—yes._ Cloud's voice trembled slightly.

 _Do you want me to let go?_

 _Not... not yet. Please._

 _Okay._ Sephiroth readjusted his physical grip on Cloud and kept his mental connection to him as well. Now that Cloud wasn't quite as panicked, Sephiroth could feel more of his lover's mind. There was a feeling of love and relief and—just there on the edge of Cloud's mind—a feeling of extreme pain. Sephiroth wondered what could be causing it. They had healed all Cloud's physical injuries, hadn't they?

 _Please don't ask,_ Cloud said quietly.

Cloud, if you're—

Please. I can't. Please. Not now.

Sephiroth felt Cloud's mind begin to pull away and he reluctantly let him go. He opened his eyes and immediately recoiled from the horde of people gathered around them. When had they all gotten there? It was only Zack in the room before. He dragged Cloud with him across the floor as everyone started talking at once. Sephiroth's head reeled from the sudden influx of noise and he clapped a hand over Cloud's exposed ear, pressing the other one to his chest. If it was overwhelming for him, coming from their silent void, it had to be much worse for Cloud.

"Shut up!" he hissed.

Surprisingly enough, everyone fell silent at his words. Sephiroth was able to take a deep breath and calm down. He realized that the crowd in the kitchen wasn't _quite_ the horde he had thought it was. At least he knew everyone who was there. Taking his hand away from Cloud's ear, he leaned down and whispered, "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." Cloud opened his eyes and looked around at the packed kitchen. "Can we go upstairs?"

"Su—"

"Not until you've explained what the hell is going on!" Alde cut in. "You two were sitting on the floor for over two hours! You didn't hear when anyone spoke to you and you didn't notice when anyone touched you! I want an explanation, Cloud. Now."

"Two hours?" Sephiroth looked up at Zack for confirmation.

"Closer to three, actually. Alde didn't get home until you had already been zoned out for a while. Are... are both of you okay? Minds still where they belong and all? We were kind of freaking out a little."

Sephiroth opened his mouth to answer, but Aerith cut him off. "This is why I wanted you to practice!" she said angrily.

"Practice what?" Alde asked. "What in Odin's name were they doing?"

"You could have... you could have gotten—"

"Aerith, calm down, babe. They're all right."

"Did their minds merge?" Sephiroth heard Vincent asking someone.

"You couldn't separate, could you?" Aerith's voice was getting louder so as to be heard over everyone else. "Did you think that something like this would be easy?"

"Shut _up!_ " Cloud yelled over the din. "Everyone, please, just be quiet." Silence fell over the room once again and Sephiroth wondered how long it would last this time. "Mom, Sephiroth was protecting my mind from Jenova's with his own. That kept her from being able to control me. It also seems to put us both in our own little world, so that's why we didn't respond to anything or notice how much time had passed. Aerith, I was afraid. Jenova was hurting me and I was terrified. Sephiroth made me feel safe, so I didn't want him to let go. Is that so bad?"

"Cloud," Aerith said, "I understand that you were scared, I really do, but I'm scared too. I'm scared that you're going to end up with your mind in Sephiroth's body or your memories will get mixed up or you'll just end up brain dead!"

"Look, none of us know what we're doing; we're all just guessing, really. So we can't know for sure what any of this is going to do. And I think that you really can't know, because you're not the one doing it. I felt like me, and I was attached to my body. Sephiroth felt like a separate individual, he was just touching me. I... I know I can't explain it very well, but I don't think there was a big risk in just staying connected like that." Cloud heaved a sigh of frustration.

"You did a better job explaining than I could have," Sephiroth said encouragingly.

"That's not good enough, Cloud!" Alde protested. "I need you to explain this properly!" Sephiroth could see the frustration in her body language, but Cloud looked near tears and he didn't feel like trying to explain either.

"Cloud explained," he said shortly. "What more do you want? Just let him rest already."

"Dammit, I'm not talking to _you!_ Cloud, please, stop keeping secrets from me," Alde lowered her voice a bit when she spoke to Cloud.

Sephiroth pressed his hand over Cloud's ear again. "It doesn't matter _who_ you're talking to when you yell," he muttered. "What matters is that you're yelling."

"I'm not trying to keep secrets from you, Mom," Cloud said. "It's just hard to explain and I don't even really understand it myself. Can't you just accept that he's helping me and leave it at that?"

"No, Cloud. I can't. You disappeared. For _three months_. And I find out after three months of being worried sick about you that you weren't mad, you had been kidnapped and tortured. And everyone keeps throwing me tiny scraps of information and expecting me to understand. Well I _don't_ understand, Cloud. Scraps aren't good enough."

"Mom, I just—"

"That's enough," Sephiroth said and stood, setting Cloud on his feet. "Cloud, you should rest some more." He ushered Cloud past everyone, out of the kitchen and led him upstairs. Sephiroth wanted his own explanation; he was certain Cloud was hiding something from him. As he shut the door behind them, he couldn't help but wish it had a lock. He wanted some time to be alone with Cloud, to give them a chance to talk properly. "Are you doing all right?" he asked.

"Yeah." Cloud pulled the curtains further open and sat on the bed, looking out the window. "I feel bad for my mom, though. I know I should just sit down and talk to her, but..."

"Don't worry about her, Cloud." Sephiroth sat next to Cloud and put an arm around his shoulders. "You've got to take care of yourself for now. You can worry about other people later."

"But she's my mom, Sephiroth. She's probably so worried. I should—I just don't know how to explain it."

Sephiroth sighed; he knew that staying here was a bad idea. Alde was just one more thing for Cloud to worry about. "She's worried, but she'll survive. She can wait until you're ready to talk about what happened, okay?" He gave Cloud a tight hug and jerked back when he felt Cloud flinch. "Cloud, what's wrong?"

"N—nothing." Cloud shifted slightly away.

"I know what I felt when our minds were connected, Cloud. And that wasn't an 'I don't want to be touched right now' flinch. If you're in pain, I need you to tell me so I can fix it."

"It's nothing!" Cloud pulled away completely and curled up on the bed with his chocobo. "Please, Sephiroth," he said softly, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Cloud..." Sephiroth was trying very hard to keep his anger from showing in his voice, but it was difficult. "Cloud, I understand that you're scared. I don't know what exactly Hojo did to you, but I know what it's like to be one of his experiments. Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know I'm not going to judge you for it, right?" Cloud was silent, so Sephiroth heaved a frustrated sigh and continued. "It wasn't your fault, Cloud. Whatever he did, it wasn't your fault. If it's something permanent, we can deal with it. If it can be fixed or reversed, we'll do it. Please. The only thing I can't handle is seeing you in pain."

"I'm sorry, Sephiroth, but I can't. Not yet. I just can't." The tone of Cloud's voice indicated that his mind was made up. Sephiroth was certain that no amount of persuading would get Cloud to talk just yet.

"Fine. When you're ready, Cloud." He reached out his hand to stroke Cloud's hair. "I'll be here." It killed him to say it, to agree to leave Cloud in pain, but he couldn't force him to talk, either.

"Thank you." Cloud lay still for several long minutes while Sephiroth stroked his hair. He could already feel fuzz starting to grow in the bald patches.

"What are we going to do?" Cloud asked. "I mean, you can't be planning to stay here forever."

"No, I definitely don't want to do that," Sephiroth said with a shudder. "I guess it's really up to you. Aerith made a deal with the planet that I would destroy Jenova in exchange for it letting me out of the Lifestream. But I'm pretty certain it can't actually hold me to it, so if you want to go hide out in Costa del Sol for the rest of our lives, we can do that."

"You'd renege on an agreement with the planet and become a beach bum if I said so?" Cloud looked up from his spot on the bed and quirked an eyebrow.

"Sure," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "What's a planet going to do to me?"

"You're a little bit stupid, you know that, right?"

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not going anywhere without you."

"So... what if I said I wanted to help destroy Jenova? And that I wouldn't mind tearing Ho—Ho—Hojo—ha, said it—to shreds while we're at it?"

Sephiroth smiled down at Cloud. "I'd say I'd appreciate the help."

"Really?" Cloud rolled over onto his back so he could see properly and Sephiroth reached out to run his thumb over Cloud's cheek.

"Really. We can take as much time as you need to recover, don't worry about that. Tseng has some plans of his own that he'll need time to get worked out."

"What sort of plans?"

"The sort where he helps Rufus Shinra overthrow his father and take over the company."

"Oh. Those are good sorts of plans."

"They are. Cloud?" Sephiroth shifted a bit closer.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad I got you back. I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Sephiroth leaned down and gently pressed his lips to Cloud's. He was reminded very much of their first kiss, when they both had been so hesitant. Cloud's soft lips were warm and Sephiroth hadn't quite realized just how much he had missed being able to kiss them. After a several long moments, he brushed his hand up along the side of Cloud's face and pulled back with a start when he encountered wetness at the corner of Cloud's eye.

"What's wrong?" he asked, brushing the tears away.

Cloud just shook his head and reached up to Sephiroth's face, pulling him back down. "They're happy tears, I promise."

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what 'happy tears' were, but Cloud didn't appear to be upset, so he resumed his gentle kisses. When he touched his tongue to Cloud's lower lip, Cloud responded with a soft moan and opened his mouth far enough for Sephiroth to slide his tongue in. Sephiroth revelled in the experience of getting reacquainted with Cloud. From the way he tasted and smelled, to the quiet noises he would make, and the way his hands always had a tendency to twist their way through Sephiroth's hair. Everything that he had been afraid he had lost was there to enjoy. He felt Cloud tense under him when Sephiroth moved his hand down to Cloud's chest and he quickly moved it back up to his face. Just being with him and kissing was enough for now.

Sephiroth wasn't sure how long they spent sprawled on the bed, making out, but a soft knock on the door caused Cloud to start and Sephiroth groaned. He supposed it was inevitable that they'd be interrupted, given the number of people in the tiny house. And considering how red and swollen Cloud's lips were—and how his own felt—they had probably had quite some time alone together.

"Do you want me to send them away?" Sephiroth asked.

"Not if whoever it is has food." Cloud hugged his chocobo to his chest and sat up against the headboard. "I'm starved."

Sephiroth chuckled and pushed himself off the bed. "If they don't, I'll get you something. I'd hate for you to starve so soon after I found you." He cracked the door open and saw Tseng and Zack at the door. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you would mind sitting down to talk about what we're going to do next," Tseng said. "Just the four of us; I'd rather not get distracted by other... things."

"Nice attempt at diplomacy," Zack quipped.

"Let me see if Cloud's feeling up to it. I'll need to get him something to eat first, though."

"Alde and Aerith are making a stew; even Vincent's helping," Zack said. "They said it would be a couple hours, if he wants to wait."

"No, he should eat something now. If I keep it light, he should be able to eat some more when the stew's ready," Sephiroth was talking mostly to himself. "Just a minute." He turned and went back into the room. "Did you hear?"

"Yeah. I'm feeling up to it, don't worry." Cloud smoothed the bedclothes and attempted to rearrange his hair. "If you feed me now, that is. I don't want to wait two hours."

"You've got it. Feel like anything in particular?"

"Something light, like you said. I want stew too."

"Okay." Sephiroth kissed Cloud's forehead and turned back towards the door before pausing. "Stop fussing," he said, "Your hair looks fine."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no M-preg in this fic. I warn for everything and everthing's dog, I would have warned for M-preg. Also, Genesis has been renamed 'Sir Not Appearing in this Fic'. Just so nobody gets their hopes up. Also note the character death warning for future chapters, please.

Alde Strife could peel potatoes like nobody's business and she was flying through the bag at a rate that even she had never before achieved. She was just so... _infuriated_ at this whole situation. Peeling potatoes didn't really help, but it did give her something inanimate to vent her frustrations on.

"What are you making?" Alde hadn't even heard the girl come into the kitchen.

"Stew," Alde said shortly.

"Would you like some help?"

Alde looked up from her potatoes. Aerith seemed so sweet and innocent; she wondered how a nice girl like her had gotten mixed up in all this. "That would be appreciated, thank you." She got Aerith set up chopping vegetables and went back to her potatoes.

After a few minutes of silence, Aerith spoke. "I can try to answer some of your questions. If you want. I don't know everything about what happened to Cloud, but it'd be better than what you've gotten so far. I'm a bit more patient than certain other individuals."

Alde snorted. "That wouldn't take much."

"True enough," Aerith laughed.

"Why?" Alde stopped, staring at her sink full of potatoes. "Why Cloud? Why did all this have to happen to him?"

"To the best of my knowledge, it was because he has a very high mako tolerance. That's how they make SOLDIERs the way they are, with mako. Cloud's tolerance made him a good candidate. And then Hojo found out about his relationship with Sephiroth. I think, in the end, he chose Cloud in order to hurt Sephiroth. Vincent, stop hovering and come in here and help."

Alde jumped and nearly dropped her knife when Vincent spoke almost right behind her. "I don't know how to cook."

"I should give you all bells," Alde muttered. She was grateful for the distraction, however. It gave her a moment to digest the new information that Cloud had been hurt because that Hojo character had decided to use him to hurt Sephiroth. If Sephiroth had enemies like that, he should have never gone near her son in the first place.

"It would go well with their uniforms, I think," Aerith said. "Here, Vincent, just cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces. That's not cooking."

Vincent was a strange one, to be sure, Alde thought as she watched him awkwardly holding the meat with that clawed hand. She considered asking about him, but there were other, more important, things that she wanted to know.

"What was done to Cloud?" Alde starting putting ingredients in her biggest pot and hoped it would be big enough for so many people.

"We're not really sure yet. Project C was supposed to create another Sephiroth and improve upon the results that had been achieved with him. We know that Cloud's a lot stronger and faster than a regular human, but we're still trying to figure out the rest."

"Hey, Aerith." Zack poked his head in through the door, causing Alde to jump again. Bells. They all needed bells. "Tseng and I are going to go see if Seph is willing to talk about what we're going to do next."

"Okay, have fun."

"What'cha making?"

"Stew."

"Would you tell Cloud that it will be ready in a couple hours?" Alde asked.

"Sure thing, ma'am." Zack disappeared and Alde heard two sets of feet going upstairs. What had Cloud been doing with that man this whole time?

Alde opened the fridge and rummaged around, looking for her beef stock. When she found it and straightened up, she barely managed to contain her scream when she was met by a vividly green pair of eyes.

"Excuse me," Sephiroth said and proceeded to start taking things out of her fridge like he owned it. Alde could only stare in shock as Sephiroth fixed a small plate of cheese, crackers, and sausages, completely ignoring everyone else in the kitchen. He poured a glass of milk and reached around Aerith to grab a napkin out of the holder.

"We're making dinner," Alde said for a lack of anything better to say.

"I know. Zack told me." Sephiroth paused on his way out. "Cloud's hungry now," he added as an explanation.

Alde glared at Sephiroth's retreating form, but couldn't argue, either. If Cloud was hungry, he should eat now, despite her initial instinct to say that he shouldn't spoil his appetite. "Coming in here, acting as though he owns the place," she muttered angrily. "Couldn't even manage a 'where's the small cutting board?' to be polite."

"Sephiroth's not really used to being a houseguest," Aerith said apologetically. "I think he thinks it's easier to just look for things himself, rather than explaining what he wants. But I think he _is_ doing the right thing about the food."

"Cloud's too thin."

"That happens in the lab," Vincent finally said something and Alde supposed he was right. The man was practically a walking skeleton.

"Right, well, Sephiroth said that Cloud was having trouble eating very much at once, so his plan is to have him eat small amounts more often. It should help get his weight back up. So I'm sure he'll make sure Cloud gets some stew too."

"I'm sure he will." Alde knew she sounded a little bitter, but she didn't really care.

"How did they end up together?" Vincent asked. "It seems so unlikely that they should have ever even met. Tseng told me that Cloud is a corporal, just a regular army grunt."

Alde laughed slightly at the annoyed look Aerith threw at Vincent for seemingly ignoring all thoughts of tact. "I'd like to know that as well," she said. "You two have a seat and I'll just put the lid on this. Then you can tell us all about how _General_ Sephiroth came to have feelings for 'just a regular army grunt'."

"I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry about it, Vincent. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it." Alde drew up her cozy rocking chair and waited rather impatiently for Aerith to begin. The girl was certainly taking her time.

"Zack met Cloud first," Aerith finally said. "He was watching the SOLDIER candidates training one day and noticed Cloud. He said that Cloud stuck out because he looked like a chocobo hatchling about to be crushed underfoot. He was the smallest one in the group, but no matter how many times he got knocked down, Cloud kept getting back up."

"That's my Cloud."

"Zack liked Cloud's spirit, he said, and decided that Cloud would make a good SOLDIER. Attitude and common sense are more important than anything else going into SOLDIER. So he started mentoring him, giving him extra training here and there, that sort of thing. He was planning on introducing Cloud to Sephiroth at some point—Zack's of the firm belief that all of his friends should be friends with each other—but it turned out that they were assigned a mission together anyways. Sephiroth was impressed with Cloud and offered to train with him sometimes."

"Just like that?" Vincent sounded skeptical. "Does he do that often?"

"No, not just like that; I'm trying to sum up." Aerith shot an annoyed glare at Vincent.

"What happened on the mission that caused him to take notice of Cloud?" Alde asked.

Again, Aerith spent several moments thinking before she answered, "Sephiroth said he was impressed with the way Cloud kept his head under pressure. The mission didn't go as planned; in fact, it went quite badly. But Cloud handled the situation far better than would have been expected of a trooper. I don't really know any details beyond that, though. The whole thing is still classified."

"You don't know how it went badly?"

"No, I'm afraid not. But I do know that the whole unit came back alive, so that's something." Aerith smiled warmly. "They met a few times after that, mostly Zack getting all three of them together. And they also met by chance once and went out for coffee. That was when Sephiroth offered to train Cloud. Zack was really busy around that time, so he didn't have much spare time for training. Since Sephiroth's schedule is more flexible, he offered to pick up the slack. It was while they were training, I think, that they started to develop feelings for each other, and Sephiroth asked Cloud out on his birthday."

"Cloud probably said 'yes', thinking that Sephiroth would stop training him if he said otherwise." Alde glanced at Aerith out of the corner of her eye. She didn't _really_ believe it, but she said it in hopes that Aerith might reassure her otherwise.

"Oh no." Aerith shook her head. "Well, Zack and I _did_ leave them alone so Sephiroth could ask him, but I'm pretty sure he followed the script."

"The script?"

"Yeah, the script. He was really nervous, you see. For many of the reasons you mentioned. So Zack and I came up with a sort of script for him to follow, so it would be clear that Cloud was in no way obligated to go out with him and that they could still be friends if Cloud said no. I also made sure that he was going to be clear on the _dating_ aspect, and that he wasn't just after sex."

"I think scripts are a good idea," Vincent mumbled and Aerith patted his knee consolingly.

"Sex?" Alde knew that they were probably having sex, but the idea just seemed so wrong. Cloud was her baby!

"They took it slow," Aerith said matter-of-factly. "Sephiroth made sure to go at Cloud's pace, not his. It was over a month before their clothes even came off. And quite a while after that before they went all the way."

Alde attempted to wrap her mind around that; there were some things she really didn't want to know. "How... how do you know that?"

"Zack. He worried about them at first; Sephiroth's got a reputation for being a bit... special when it comes to social skills. So he talked to Cloud a lot about how things were going. Just to make sure that Cloud was comfortable, happy, that sort of thing. He also talked to Sephiroth; I think that man will never forget the phrase 'no means no' for as long as he lives. Although I prefer 'yes means yes', personally."

"So," Alde said very cautiously, almost daring to hope, "Cloud would have told Zack if he was feeling pressured or threatened? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Cloud keeps things bottled up, but Zack would have noticed if something was wrong and he would have gotten it out of him. He's remarkably good at that sort of thing. And Zack would have done something about it, I promise. Gutted Sephiroth, at the bare minimum. And I would have helped. I think that between the two of us, we would have managed."

"I see..."

"Anyways, my point is, Sephiroth loves Cloud dearly, and he's been working really hard at their relationship. He's made mistakes, we all do, but he learns from them and I don't think he's ever made the same mistake twice."

Alde smiled a bit; men who learned from their mistakes were hard to find. She wasn't completely mollified, but Aerith's explanation had been a comfort to her. "Thank you, dear, for taking the time to sit down with me. Now if only Sephiroth could work even half as hard at his relationships with _other_ people."

"Good luck with that," Aerith laughed. "I think you might be waiting a long time, though, if you're wanting him to behave like a proper houseguest."

"I suppose I will be." Alde got up to check the stew; it was coming along nicely. She wondered how long they were all planning on staying. She didn't want Cloud to leave, but having seven people in her house, when she was used to one or two, was becoming a strain. At least they had fixed the door, she supposed, though they had been the ones to break it. But feeding them was also becoming quite a strain on her budget. Couldn't a few of them stay at the inn?

***

"Stop fussing," Sephiroth said without looking back. "Your hair looks fine."

Cloud let his hands drop with a sigh. It didn't look fine and he knew it. It just didn't sit right anymore and felt really weird, not to mention that it was embarrassing. He didn't have long to brood over bald patches, however, since Zack came running in as soon as Sephiroth was out the door.

"Spiky!" he shouted, jumping on the bed with a whump that caused Cloud to bang back against the headboard, wincing. He was quick to keep any signs of pain from showing; Tseng followed Zack into the room and Cloud was pretty sure that the Turk would notice.

"Hi, Cloud. How're you feeling?" Tseng pulled the chair out from under Cloud's old desk and sat down.

"Hey, Tseng. I'm doing all right, I guess."

"You really do love that chocobo, don'tcha?" Zack grinned up at Cloud from his spot at the foot of the bed.

Cloud realized that Mini-Cloud was still in his lap and tossed it aside with a glare. It wasn't like that! He didn't need some stuffed animal; it was just—

"Oh, come on, you don't have to be embarrassed!"

"Fair, I don't think that Cloud is in the mood to be teased right now," Tseng said.

"I'm not teasing him. If I were teasing him, I'd ask him what he and Seph were doing this past hour. Because he sure doesn't look like he was sleeping." Zack tossed a wink in Cloud's direction.

"Fuck off, Zack." Cloud really wished he could hold onto Mini-Cloud... without being teased. It was comforting when Sephiroth wasn't here.

"Like I said, not in the mood to be teased, so leave him alone, Fair."

"Hey, sorry, Spike. You know I'm only joking, right? Thought it might cheer you up a little."

Well it didn't, Cloud wanted to say. Instead he went with, "Don't worry about it," and pulled his knees up to his chest, wishing that Sephiroth would get back soon. He breathed a small sigh of relief when Tseng said something to Zack and drew the attention away from him. He sat in bed, ignoring what the other two were saying, until he heard Sephiroth on the landing. Although that just caused him to sigh in frustration. He was depending way too much on Sephiroth. What was he going to do when he found out?

Sephiroth came in quietly, carrying a plate and a glass, which he set on the bedside table. Settling himself onto the bed next to Cloud, he gave him a quick kiss on the head. "Cheese, crackers, sausages, and milk," he said, handing the plate over to Cloud, who let go of his knees in favour of food. "Eat what you can."

"Thanks." Cloud picked up a slice of cheese and nibbled at it as Sephiroth wrapped an arm around his waist and let him lean into his chest.

"You're welcome. So," Sephiroth addressed Tseng and Zack, "We need a plan."

"Does Cloud know about the thing with the planet?" Zack asked.

"Cloud is sitting right here and can tell you himself that he knows about the thing with the planet if you'd care to ask him." Cloud was aware that he was being cranky and unreasonable, but he didn't really care, either. He had gotten enough of people talking like he wasn't in the room when he was in the labs.

"Right, sorry."

"We talked about it earlier," Sephiroth said. "We agreed that we want to destroy Jenova and Hojo together. I think it will take a few more days before Cloud will be ready to travel. Tseng, you mentioned something about needing more people. Am I right in thinking that you want to go back to Midgar to recruit the Turks and SOLDIER to our side?"

"Yes. I'm certain that we'll be able to get all the Turks. Our loyalty is to Rufus, not ShinRa, and Rufus is with us."

"Why?" Cloud asked. "Aren't you guys supposed to be loyal to the company until death do you part or something like that?"

"We're supposed to be," Tseng said. "But the company isn't loyal to us. Turks have a high-risk job; we know that when we sign up, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that we put our lives at risk every single day. Shinra Sr. is... extremely casual in regards to our lives. He never hesitates to send us into situations we have no hope of surviving and he couldn't care less when we come home in bags.

"Rufus is different from his father, however. He was practically raised by the Turks, as he was required to have a bodyguard from the moment he was born. He grew up with an understanding of what we do and the risks that we take. He doesn't risk our lives unnecessarily, and he has never missed a funeral. In short, Cloud, he's earned our loyalty. Something Shinra Sr. always just assumed he had."

Cloud nodded his understanding. He wondered what was different about SOLDIER, whose lives were also put at risk. Maybe it was the enhancements. Or the fact that they didn't do any of the truly dirty work.

"SOLDIER might be a bit more difficult, however," Tseng continued as though Cloud hadn't interrupted. "Since your 'death', SOLDIER has been at a bit of a loss. Director Lazard disappeared about a month after the Nibelheim incident as well."

"Lazard?" Cloud was curious. Lazard hadn't been his favourite person after what he said about Sephiroth, but he didn't hate him. It was even kind of nice, now that he had thought about it, that the man had taken him aside to make sure that everything was all right.

"Yes." Tseng, at least, didn't seem to mind the interruptions. "He had been embezzling funds from the company and ran for it just as the Turks were about to make their move. I suspect Rufus may have had something to do with that," Tseng added quietly, "Family ties and all. Shinra didn't want to deal with finding a new director—or a new general—so he decided that SOLDIER no longer needed to be a division on its own and placed it under Heidegger's command."

"Damn, glad I dodged that bullet," Zack said. "Imagine working for Heidegger!"

"The SOLDIERs aren't thrilled about it, but I think they're just glad that they weren't disbanded all together. There's not as big a need for them now that the war with Wutai is over and AVALANCHE isn't a threat. It might be hard convincing them to give up their chances at more enhancements without something big."

"Something big being me," Sephiroth stated flatly.

"Yes, that's what I was thinking."

"No."

Cloud looked up from his sausage slice. "Sephiroth?" Wouldn't Sephiroth want to do everything he could?

"You need rest, Cloud. You'll still be recovering by the time we get to Midgar. People who are supposed to be dead sneaking into ShinRa headquarters and encouraging a mutiny isn't restful. Zack can go in my place and we'll wait for them in Kalm."

"Couldn't Zack stay with Cloud in Kalm and—"

"No," Sephiroth cut Tseng off. "Just no. I don't think I need to explain myself further, do I?"

Sephiroth was sounding surprisingly menacing, and Cloud attempted to distract him, just in case Tseng kept arguing. "Could you hand me the milk, please?" It worked, Cloud was pleased to see Sephiroth's face soften, and he handed Cloud the glass. Although it seemed that Tseng didn't need the distraction after all.

"All right," he agreed. "I guess you leaving him wouldn't work anyways, because of Jenova. Zack and I will go to Midgar. We'll also need transportation for afterwards."

Cloud settled back, sipping at his milk and only half paying attention to what the others were saying. It was probably really selfish, not to mention hurting their cause, but he was really happy that Sephiroth wasn't willing to just leave him. He didn't want to be alone right now. Although, if they were holed up alone for any length of time, there would be a lot fewer distractions to keep Sephiroth from asking about why he was still in pain. Cloud grabbed another sausage. He had tried to convince himself that Sephiroth wouldn't care, but there was always that little voice in the back of his mind. The one that sounded remarkably like Hojo. Cloud sighed and turned his attention back to the conversation.

"We'll send Vincent to recruit the pilot," Tseng was saying.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, Vincent's not exactly Mr. Social Skills," Zack said.

"He _was_ a Turk, that should mean he's got at least some negotiation skills." Tseng paused for a moment. "I'll have Rufus call him as well; that should help. But really, Highwind will do anything for a chance to fly."

Ugh, flying. Maybe all the things Hojo had done to him had cured him of his motion sickness. That would be the only good thing to come out of it all. Well, Cloud supposed, he was also strong now. He _had_ wanted to be able to stand by Sephiroth's side as an equal, after all. Maybe this was just a really good example of 'be careful what you wish for', because he sure as hell hadn't wanted anything like this. Cloud nudged Sephiroth's elbow and handed the milk glass back to him. He was so tired; he never had gotten that nap that Sephiroth promised him. He curled up into Sephiroth's side and felt a comforting hand in his hair.

***

Cloud walked quickly down the corridor to Sephiroth's office; this place was like a maze sometimes and he was running late. He finally found the office and paused a moment outside to straighten his uniform. He could hear Sephiroth's smooth voice on the other side of the door; it sounded like he was talking to Zack. Knocking lightly on the door, Cloud opened it and stepped through. He saw Sephiroth turn and smile at him before the floor opened up underneath him and he was falling. He caught one final glimpse of Sephiroth's stricken face before he was falling through complete darkness.

Down and down he went, scrabbling frantically at the sides of the walls, trying to get a grip, but there was nothing to hold on to. The falling sensation suddenly stopped and Cloud looked around blindly. "Sephiroth?" he said hesitantly.

"Sephiroth isn't coming for you."

Cloud whipped around at the sound of the voice. That was—that was—His breaths were coming in gasps and Cloud fought not to panic. "No, no, no..." Cloud moaned. "He loves me; he'll come."

"Even if he's not dead, do you really believe that he'll come for you? Now? What do you think his reaction will be when he sees you? You think he'd still want you? You're disgusting."

The world shifted and Cloud was lying face down on a table, unable to move. He could hear movement behind him and someone spoke.

"This is certainly an interesting development, isn't it, Specimen?"

Cloud felt hand on his back and writhed helplessly against his bonds. When his back felt like it exploded in pain, Cloud screamed at the top of his lungs and thrashed. He must have broken the straps holding him down, as it was suddenly a lot easier to move, but something was still holding him. Cloud fought and kicked out against it, trying to get away. Whatever—whomever—it was let go and Cloud scrambled through the darkness. The floor abruptly ended and Cloud fell a short distance, landing with a thud. His eyes flew open—had they been closed?—and he looked around the room, trying to interpret his surroundings.

It didn't look like the lab; Cloud recognized his own bed next to him and his things on the dresser. He must have fallen off the bed. And the people in the room weren't in lab coats. That was Sephiroth, crouched down in front of him, and Zack and Tseng behind Sephiroth.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth said very softly. "Do you know where you are?"

Cloud nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Home."

"That's right. You're at home, and you're safe. I'm sorry that I didn't notice you were dreaming." Sephiroth inched a little bit closer. "We got talking logistics and I was distracted. I should have been paying better attention."

"S'okay. Just a nightmare." Cloud kept his arms firmly around his knees as Sephiroth attempted to embrace him. Sephiroth shouldn't have to deal with him like this. He needed to plan and recruit and go save the world. Cloud was just in the way.

As if reading his mind, or maybe just sensing his reluctance, Sephiroth moved back and crouched, bouncing a bit on his toes. He reached up to the bed and handed Mini-Cloud over. Cloud took it hesitantly, tossing a quick glance in Zack's direction.

"Do you want anything, Cloud?" Sephiroth reached out and brushed a few tears off Cloud's cheek.

"My... my mom. I want my mom," Cloud whimpered.

"Could one of you?" Sephiroth turned and looked up at Zack and Tseng.

"Of course." Both men headed out of the room and Cloud was left looking up at Sephiroth, feeling a bit guilty.

"I'm sorry, I just—"

"It's okay, I understand. She'll be right up."

"'Kay." Cloud felt like such a weakling, crying for his mommy, but he really wanted to see her.

"Shh, it's okay." Sephiroth brushed away a few more tears. "She'll be right here."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm rather horrified to admit it, but this chapter made me cry a little. Not over anything you might expect a person to cry about, but over the stupidest little throwaway detail. I have odd emotions. Odd emotions aside, I'm really proud of this chapter.

Alde quietly entered Cloud's room. There was a soft, sniffling sound coming from behind the bed, and Sephiroth was squatting on the floor next to it. Was Cloud upset again? Had that Jenova thing been back? Aerith had been telling her a bit more about how the connection between them worked, when Zack had come down, saying that Cloud wanted to see her. She hadn't realized that something had happened, though.

"Cloud?"

Sephiroth turned at the sound of her voice, a worried expression on his face. "He had a nightmare." Then he turned back to Cloud. "She's here. Do you want to sit up on the bed?" There was a soft murmur and Sephiroth leaned over, then stood up with Cloud in his arms. The man carefully placed her son on the bed and kissed his forehead. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Okay. Thanks." Cloud sat limply on the bed, plucking at the ruff of that chocobo toy with tears streaming down his face.

Alde blinked in shock as Sephiroth slid past her and out the door, shutting it behind him. He was actually going to leave them alone?

"Mom?" Cloud's voice shook as he spoke.

Alde's attention snapped back to Cloud and she rushed over to the bed. "I'm here, baby. I'm here." She gathered her son into her arms, despite him being far too big, and rocked him. "I'm here, Stormcloud, I've got you." Cloud clung to her, and began sobbing desperately, like he had been holding it in for far too long. The occasional word got out through his sobs, but she couldn't really make much sense of it. Except for 'scared'. That one was easy enough to understand. "Shh, don't be scared. You're safe here."

Alde's heart felt like it was being torn apart as her son broke down. This world was too cruel, allowing something so horrible to happen to such a wonderful boy. She hated ShinRa, she hated Hojo, and she hated Sephiroth. No... Alde thought again, she couldn't hate Sephiroth, not when he clearly made Cloud happy. She hated what Sephiroth was, a SOLDIER and the person who had unknowingly caused Cloud to leave home and join the army. But she didn't hate _him._

Eventually Cloud's sobs tapered off and Alde pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. She wiped Cloud's eyes and then held it to his nose. "Blow," she ordered. Cloud did as he was told and let out a half-hearted laugh when she put the handkerchief back in her pocket.

"Like I'm a little kid again."

"Nonsense," Alde said. "Even grown men need their mothers sometimes. Do you want to tell me about the nightmare?"

Cloud shook his head. "Was just flashbacks. I—I kept hearing things that Ho—Hojo would say to me."

"What sort of things?"

"He—he would tell me that Sephiroth was dead. Or that he'd never come for me. That he didn't love me anymore."

"Well, obviously that's not true. Even I can tell that he loves you."

"I know, and I didn't believe it, not really, when he would say it. How would he know if Sephiroth still loved me or not? It still hurt, though. I was so scared. Alone. It seemed like I had been there forever and Sephiroth never came."

Alde continued rocking Cloud as he spoke. It was good for him to get it out, even if it was heartbreaking to hear. "Go on, Stormcloud, I'm here for you."

"He would call me a monster. Hideous and disgusting." Alde hugged Cloud a bit tighter. "He said that Sephiroth would take one look at me and leave."

"But he hasn't, baby. He hasn't left you. And you're not _any_ of those things. You're beautiful. Sephiroth's damn lucky he's smart enough to see that."

"He doesn't know, though. None of you know. I'm scared, mom. I'm scared he's going to find out and I can't keep it a secret forever."

"Find out what? It's okay, Cloud, you can tell me."

"No..." Cloud moaned. "I can't. I can't. If you knew..."

"You don't think I would—never mind. Cloud, I want you to listen to me," Alde spoke firmly. "I love you. Sephiroth loves you. Your friends love you. I will _never_ reject you. Do you understand that? No matter what some madman has done to you, you will always be my son and I will always love you. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you what I believe. I've been watching the way Sephiroth acts around you, and I am positive that he isn't going to leave you for any reason. That man loves you, Cloud. He really does. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, Ma, I understand."

"Good. You don't have to tell whatever your secret is if you don't want to. But I don't want you being afraid to tell it." Alde tried to think of something that Cloud would be so afraid of sharing, but was at a loss. There wasn't anything wrong with him on the outside. Internal changes maybe? "We're only human, Cloud, so we might be surprised and we might be shocked, but we won't reject you."

Cloud nodded slowly. "Thanks, Mom." He laughed a bit more brightly this time as his stomach let out a rather loud growl.

"Are you feeling better now?" Alde asked, and got a nod and a smile in response. "How about some stew then? It should be about ready."

"That would be good. But... I don't know if I really want to go downstairs and eat with everyone."

Alde hesitated slightly, but made her decision quickly. "How about I send your Sephiroth up with some for the both of you? You can eat up here."

"My Sephiroth... Thanks, Mom. That'd be nice."

"All right, then." Alde stood and gave Cloud a quick kiss on the lips and a hug. "I'll send him up shortly. Are you all right by yourself for a few minutes?"

"Of course I am. Don't be ridiculous." Cloud pushed himself back so he was leaning against the headboard. "I'll be just fine."

Alde smiled and nodded, then headed for the door. She left it open, just in case, and breathed a sigh of relief on the landing. Cloud had talked to her. Willingly. That meant the world to her. Now she just needed to have a quick chat with Sephiroth. With that thought in mind, Alde made her way downstairs feeling a renewed sense of purpose.

***

Sephiroth paced the small living room, occasionally throwing worried glances up at the ceiling. Cloud was all right. He was all right. He just needed his mom for a while. That was understandable. When things are bad, people want their mothers. He had seen battle-hardened veterans screaming for their mothers many times. At least this time, there was a mother to make it better. He just wished he could have stayed.

Shaking his head, Sephiroth kept pacing. It was stupid to wish that. That wasn't what Cloud had wanted. Sephiroth knew enough to know when to butt out. It didn't keep him from worrying, however. An awfully long time had passed, but at least Cloud had stopped crying a while ago. Hopefully Alde had it under control.

Eventually, he heard the door to Cloud's room open and Alde came down the stairs a few moments later. She gestured to him as she walked towards the kitchen and Sephiroth followed.

"How's the stew coming?" she asked Aerith.

"I think it's pretty much done." Aerith was leaning over a pot with a large wooden spoon in hand.

"All right. I need to speak with Sephiroth privately for a moment and then we'll have dinner."

Sephiroth hovered awkwardly at the entrance to the kitchen as Aerith handed over the spoon with a smile and went out to the living room.

"How is he?" Sephiroth asked as soon as they were alone.

"Come closer, I'm not going to bite. Cloud has calmed down. He'd like you to eat upstairs with him, so I'll get some dished out for each of you and you can take it up to his room."

"Okay," Sephiroth agreed.

Alde started taking dishes out of the cupboard. "Cloud has a secret," she said suddenly. "He isn't ready to talk about it, but he's terribly afraid of what we, and you in particular, will think when we find out."

"I know there's something he's afraid to tell me."

"I told him, _promised_ him, that no matter what it was, you weren't going to reject him. I told him that you love him and that you wouldn't leave him over something a maniac did to him. Especially since it was your fault," Alde added in a barely audible mutter.

"I won't, I swear it. I realize that this is my fault, but even if it wasn't, I would never leave him because of something that was done to him." Sephiroth was feeling rather desperate as he struggled to make Alde trust his sincerity. The fact that she was showing enough faith in him to have told Cloud that was surprisingly touching.

"Good. I'm glad you see things my way." Alde stared Sephiroth down with a fiery look in her eyes. "Because if you hurt him, I will hunt you down and make you sincerely regret ever having heard the name Strife. Are we clear?"

"We're clear, ma'am." Sephiroth had an uneasy feeling that there was a reason behind the surname.

"Good. Now," Alde dished out two large bowls of stew and handed them to Sephiroth, "Go feed my son. And tell the others that dinner is ready."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth paused in the doorway. "Yes?"

"Thank you for letting me talk to him alone."

"It was what he needed," Sephiroth said simply.

***

Sephiroth looked around the small room that had been their home for the past week, checking for anything they might have forgotten. He knew that Mini-Cloud was tucked safely in the top of Cloud's pack; that was the really important thing, it seemed. Anything else could be replaced when they got to Kalm. He grabbed both of their bags and hit the light switch on his way out. At the landing, he paused, not wanting to interrupt Cloud and Alde saying their goodbyes.

"And tell Tseng 'thank you' again for me," Alde was saying.

"I will, Mom, don't worry. Though I think he knows by now."

Sephiroth shuffled guiltily. He should have thought of paying for their expenses while they were staying here. He just wasn't used to living on a budget; anything he needed, he could afford. He didn't think about money very often.

"Are... are you sure this is what you want to do, Cloud?" Alde asked hesitantly. She had been against Cloud leaving at first, but it hadn't taken her long to agree to it. Cloud had been... convincing, when he explained why he needed to go. Sephiroth had whole-heartedly given up any claims to killing Hojo after hearing Cloud describe what he was going to do to the man. Tseng told him later that most of what Cloud had been describing were things that had been done to him.

 _And then I'll shove him in a mako tank and watch him scream as he breathes chemicals for a few days. And then I'll do it all over again._

Alde had seemed a bit shocked at her son's viciousness, but she also seemed to understand that Cloud had needed to vent. And that he needed to see Hojo dead in order to move on. Sephiroth had only been able to hold Cloud and promise him that he could have his revenge. He'd destroy Jenova so Cloud could have free rein, and then sit back and watch. In a way, that option seemed even better than killing Hojo himself.

He was impressed with how well Cloud was handling everything. He had nightmares, every night, and the occasional flashback during the day, but he dealt with them and tried to move on as best he could. Jenova's attacks had come quite often—a few times a day—for the first little while, but had tapered off when she seemed to realize that she was just wasting her energy. Now they were just infrequent and random enough to be really annoying. Cloud handled them well; he hadn't attached himself to Sephiroth's mind and refused to let go again like he had that first day. But it did usually take a few minutes for Cloud to calm down enough to want Sephiroth to let go. That made him feel a bit better about the whole thing, actually; Cloud didn't hate it when Sephiroth was in his mind and even found it comforting.

Sephiroth pulled his mind back to the present when he heard Cloud call out for him.

"Sephiroth? You ready?"

"Coming," he answered, heaving the packs onto his shoulder once again.

Cloud was dressed like he was going into battle; he was wearing a First Class uniform that had been found in one of the upstairs rooms of the mansion. And Tseng had found his sword and bracer in the lab, along with the necklace. Sephiroth had been reluctant to keep the tracking device, thinking it could be used against them, but Cloud had demanded it back. Tseng had hastily explained that he could disable the GPS, which averted what had looked like a nasty tantrum in the works if Sephiroth had argued against keeping it. When he had asked Cloud about it, he simply said that Sephiroth had given it to him.

Sephiroth set the bags by the door and went to collect Cloud, who was being crushed by Alde.

"Help," Cloud squeaked.

Sephiroth looked him up and down. "You'll live." He then turned to Elena, who was sitting on the couch, looking relaxed, but alert. "If _anything_ happens, or even seems suspicious, I want you to get her out of here. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Elena said, blushing slightly. "I've got my orders, you don't need to worry."

But Sephiroth did worry; he couldn't help it. Alde had... grown on him, just a little, over the past week. And Cloud would be devastated if anything happened to her. Tseng had told him that a second Turk would be arriving in a couple days, but until then, it was just the youngest Turk on bodyguard duty. He hoped she could handle it. And that Alde wouldn't put up too much of a fuss if they had to go to a safe house.

Alde finally let go of Cloud and Sephiroth took him by the hand. "Ready?"

Cloud nodded. "Yep. I'll be back soon, mom, I promise. Love you."

"I love you too, Cloud. And Sephiroth, you take care of him."

"I will, ma'am."

"And take care of yourself too."

"I will, ma'am. And please, do what Elena says."

Alde gave a hard-done-by sigh and nodded. "I will. I can't promise to be happy about it, but if she says I need to leave, I'll go. Town'll be empty soon enough if everyone keeps leaving, though."

"Who else has left?" Cloud asked.

"Miss Lockheart did, a few weeks after you disappeared. I'm pretty sure it was Greta—Mrs. Guptar who convinced her to go. Ran off to Midgar to find herself. Young Johnny followed a couple weeks after that. A few others left too, no one you knew, really. Just up and disappeared one day."

"Mr. Hoffman?" Cloud asked hesitantly. "The man who fixed shoes?"

"Yes, he was one of them. How did you know?"

"Doesn't matter. You're sure Tifa went to Midgar?" Sephiroth listened with a feeling of dread. He suspected that he could guess how Cloud knew.

"I'm sure, Cloud. Mayor Lockheart and Zangan both got letters from her a month or so ago. Said she'd settled in fine and was making new friends."

"That's good, I'm glad," Cloud said with genuine relief in his voice. "Well, I guess we should be heading out."

"Are you sure you don't want me coming with you? It's not far and I'm sure Elena can get me home safely afterwards." Sephiroth smiled at the reluctance in Alde's voice. She really didn't want to go, but it seemed like she would if Cloud needed her to.

"I'm sure, Ma. See you soon."

With that, Cloud hoisted his pack over his shoulder and headed out the front door, a look of determination on his face.

***

Sephiroth gave Cloud's hand a tight squeeze as they stood in front of the building that had been Cloud's prison for three months. "Tseng and Vincent checked it all thoroughly; there were no more survivors in there."

Cloud gave a short nod. "They found the bodies, though, didn't they?"

"About a dozen. Some in lab clothing, others looked liked civilians. They buried them all. That's where Mr. Hoffman ended up, isn't it?"

"He lived by himself on the edge of town. People called him crazy because he didn't come out of his house much and he collected all sorts of weird things, but he was always nice to me. Even in there." Cloud gave himself a shake. "After a while, Hojo decided that I was valuable enough to not want to risk accidentally killing. So he needed samples to test procedures on before he used them on me."

There was nothing that Sephiroth could think of to say to comfort Cloud, so he opted for holding him close for a few minutes. Cloud eventually nodded again and adjusted his bracer.

"Never again," he said. "Let's burn this hell-hole to the ground."

Cloud sent a fiery blast directly through the open front doors of the mansion. Sephiroth followed up with one of his own and, shortly afterwards, he heard several more minor explosions caused by everyone else casting their spells. Soon enough, flames could be seen spreading throughout the building.

"Not quite as satisfying as I had hoped," Cloud said with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Would you like to give this a try?" Vincent approached from around the side of the mansion and held out a red materia. "It might have the destructive capabilities you're looking for."

"A summon?" Cloud asked.

"Looks like Ifrit," Sephiroth peered over Cloud's shoulder at the materia. "Equip it and give it a try."

Cloud popped the materia into his bracer with practiced ease, and then looked nervously between Sephiroth and Vincent. "I've never..."

"It works the same as your regular materia to cast," Sephiroth explained. "Focus your mind and imagine the energy flow. Ifrit likes to show off a little when he arrives, but he won't hurt you or anyone you consider an ally. Since you're not _fighting_ anything, per se, you'll need to direct him. Use your mind to guide him towards destroying the building."

"Umm..."

"You can dismiss him anytime you want. Just imagine him back in the materia."

"Okay. I can do this." Cloud attempted to pump himself up.

" _Before_ the place has burned down, Spike." Zack and Aerith had returned from their positions on the far side of the manor.

Sephiroth took a step back as Cloud shut his eyes in concentration. Moments later, a searing heat enveloped the area as Ifrit roared his way into existence. The horned, hulking beast screamed in fury and tore up a large chunk of the ground, hurling it away like it was weightless. He then settled down, eyeing their group unpleasantly.

"Direct him, Cloud," Sephiroth said a little nervously. He had never seen an Ifrit summon quite this large and didn't want to deal with the aftermath of him getting bored.

Cloud's eyes flew open and he looked in shock at the beast before him. "Wow. Um, hello. Could you destroy that mansion?" Cloud pointed past Ifrit. "Please."

Sephiroth bit back a chuckle at Cloud's politeness and heard Zack sniggering behind him. Ifrit turned slowly, and then punched the ground in front of him. Strips of fire shot out from where the monster's fist hit the ground and sliced through the building, cutting deep into the foundation. Black smoke had started billowing out of the mansion, but a strong wind was blowing most of it away from them. Sephiroth wiped his forehead as sweat dripped down it from standing too close to the searing heat. He saw Zack and Aerith moving back to join Tseng near the chocobos. Good, it was safer there, but Cloud looked determined to stay here. So did Vincent, for that matter. It was fitting, he supposed; they were the ones who had been hurt the most by the mansion and the secrets it held.

The fire was growing hotter by the second. "Zack," he called out, "Start casting Ice around the perimeter. I don't want this to spread." Ifrit looked like he was preparing to cast Hellfire; that would surely reduce the entire thing to ashes. He glanced back to see Tseng trying to hold off the fire brigade and hoped no one would panic. Perhaps they should have warned the town of what they were planning beforehand. Although the summon had been unexpected.

"Burn, burn, burn," Cloud was chanting to himself. Sephiroth noticed a few tears sneaking out of the corners of Cloud's eyes, but they dried almost instantly. Sephiroth took hold of Cloud's hand, giving it a squeeze, and turned his attention to Ifrit as the creature summoned a wave of fire and lava to engulf the mansion. The noise was terrible as the foundation cracked and the basements began collapsing. It sounded like a giant's nails being scraped over a blackboard. All three of them flinched from the noise, but stood their ground. Lava, ash, and rubble flowed downwards, filling in the torture chambers and laboratories. No more labs, no more books filled with lies; it was all gone in a few seconds.

"That's enough, Cloud. Send him away," Sephiroth said quietly. "It's done. We don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Burn, burn—" Cloud cut off his chanting abruptly and looked up at Sephiroth. He nodded once. "It's done. Burnt." He looked up at Ifrit, shielding his eyes from the heat. "Thank you." The creature disappeared in a burst of flames, leaving the smoking remains of the mansion behind.

"At least he puts out his fires when he leaves," Zack called from a ways away, coughing. "The two of you make a very polite team."

Cloud fumbled with his bracer, blinking away tears, while he tried to remove the materia. Vincent reached out and laid his hand on Cloud's. "Keep it," he said. "I'm sure you'll get good use out of it."

"Th—thank you," Cloud said. "Are you sure? You don't need it or anything?"

"I'll be fine without." Vincent dusted some soot off himself and looked up at Mount Nibel. "I should go."

"Well, take care of yourself," Sephiroth said. "Good luck."

"Thank you. Same goes for you." Vincent shuffled awkwardly and turned away. Sephiroth breathed a sigh of relief as the man went over to speak with Tseng, who was still fending off firemen, and turned back to Cloud.

"You did good," he said, wrapping his arms around Cloud and pulling him into a hug. "That was some impressive casting there. I don't think anyone's going near that place for a very, very long time."

Cloud clutched tightly at Sephiroth's jacket and cried into his chest for a few minutes. "Got any salt?" Cloud asked when his tears had finally slowed.

"Sorry. But I don't think much will be growing there, either. At least not anytime soon." Sephiroth gripped Cloud's chin and tilted his head up, looking into his eyes. "That's one nightmare off the face of the planet. Ready to go get the rest?"

Cloud nodded whole-heartedly.

"Let's go then." He took Cloud by the hand and led the way towards the chocobos. "Am I right in thinking that I look just as filthy as you?"

Cloud laughed, "I think so. We should have done this first, then gone and had showers."

"But then we couldn't skip town before the angry mob catches us." Sephiroth pointed towards the gathering crowd by the water tower. "Done much chocobo riding?"

"A—a little. Sometimes we had to use them on missions." Cloud's voice had something akin to dread held in it.

"Don't like them?" Sephiroth reached for Yellow's bridle and scratched around his beak.

"They make me a little nervous. The ones they give the regular army aren't the best, I think." Cloud blushed and looked at his feet.

"They probably gave you guys the old and cranky ones. Does Zack know you don't like them? I can imagine a lot teasing coming out of that."

Cloud shook his head. "He'd never let me hear the end of it."

"Well, Yellow's pretty good, in my opinion. Come over here and give him a pat; he won't bite." Sephiroth held out his hand invitingly. "And, uh, hurry," he added, casting a nervous glance at the crowd.

"Don't worry, I may not like them, but I can put up with them." Cloud took a couple steps and laid a hand on Yellow's neck.

"Hop on then. I'll ride behind you." Cloud pulled himself up onto the chocobo's back while Sephiroth held Yellow's head still. He swung up behind Cloud and took hold of the reins as Tseng was disengaging himself from an argument with what appeared to be the fire chief.

"We got rid of a plague on your town," he was saying as he walked towards his own chocobo. "You should be thanking us." Tseng mounted and waved Zack and Aerith, who had been making a final check of the perimeter, over. They were already mounted and ready. "Let's go." He clucked at his bird and led the way down the path, towards the mountains.

Sephiroth wrapped his right arm around Cloud's waist. It wasn't strictly necessary; Cloud wasn't a child who was at risk of falling and they weren't going particularly fast either. But Cloud settled into his hold and laid his arm across Sephiroth's. "Lean back and relax," Sephiroth said.

Cloud did so with a smile. "I'm kind of looking forward to a several days long hug. Mom always gave you those _looks_ if you held me for too long."

"Trust me, I noticed. Well, no one's going to glare at me out here, so if you need me to carry you with me everywhere, just say the word."

"I don't think I'm _that_ bad."

"No, you're not. But if you were, it wouldn't be bad and I wouldn't mind."

"Thanks."

"Welcome. So, Cloud, you never did tell me about that haunted room mystery of Zack's."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Depending on how this week goes, there may not be a new chapter next week. Life has been kicking my ass lately and I haven't been getting near enough writing done to keep up with the once a week thing. So, apologies in advance, but if there's no chapter next week, that's why.
> 
> Oh, and just for fair warning, in case you haven't figured it out already, the original game timeline has been warped beyond all recognition. Since, you know, there was five years of Not Much Happens.

Cloud sat comfortably in Sephiroth's arms as they made their way through the mountains. He dozed occasionally, but mostly they just rode in silence or made small talk. The scenery was pretty and they made enough noise as they were going that they scared off any wandering monsters. Or they just outran them; chocobos were pretty fast. It was also nice being outside; after over three months of being cooped up indoors—most of it spent underground—the fresh air was invigorating.

"Do you want to try steering?" Sephiroth asked after several hours.

Cloud twisted around as best he could on the bird's back. "It's not _steering_ , stupid," he protested.

"Then what would you call it? You're already riding. I thought about it for a while and the best I could come up with was 'steering'."

"Um... I don't actually know, but I know it's _not_ steering."

"Well, whatever it is, do you want to try it anyways?"

"Yeah, okay." Cloud was feeling pretty good. And Sephiroth was there if Yellow decided to go crazy or something. He had been watching Sephiroth 'steer' Yellow for the past little while, and he thought he had a pretty good idea of how the people who actually knew what they were doing did it. Cloud confidently took the reins and Sephiroth let go of him, leaning back a ways so it was almost like he was riding alone.

Yellow was definitely a lot better than the chocobos they had been given in the army. He actually _went_ where Cloud directed him to go. Without fighting or turning around and biting him. It was actually proving to be kind of fun.

"Can we go a little faster?" Cloud asked.

"Sure, if you want." Sephiroth stopped leaning back quite so far, as Cloud clucked, mimicking the way Sephiroth had done it.

Yellow's steps sped up and they flew past the others, wind whistling in their hair. Cloud let out an exuberant whoop. "This is so much fun!" They darted around rocks and leapt over small logs in the path. Cloud barely dodged a tree branch and ducked down, close to Yellow's neck. The thrill of it was intoxicating, but the constant bouncing was beginning to really hurt. He reluctantly pulled back on the reins, slowing the bird down while breathing heavily from the rush of adrenaline.

"Enjoyed that, did you?" Sephiroth kissed Cloud's temple and leaned around to pat Yellow's neck. "Well done. You could have been a jockey."

Cloud laughed while trying to catch his breath, "Maybe that's what I could do after we save the planet. Would you watch me race?"

"You know I would. I'd be your biggest fan and I'd be there at the finish line to give you a kiss every time you win."

"And flowers?" Cloud asked hopefully. "I want one of those giant bouquets and the wreath things for around my chocobo's neck.

"Those are only for the really big races, you know." Cloud turned and blinked sadly at Sephiroth, who sighed. "Fine, I'll get you flowers for the little races too."

"Because it's just not as romantic if you don't hand me a bouquet and _then_ give me a big sloppy kiss. And I have to have something to hold onto while I'm swooning in your arms."

"You have an odd sense of romance."

"I read a few of my mom's books while we were there. And if I've learned anything, it's that romance is odd and your biceps don't bulge anywhere near enough. You're strong and all, but biceps have to _bulge_."

"Oh, Gaia, that's terrible, Cloud. How can you read that junk?"

"It's neat! And I was bored. You guys were busy planning and I didn't have the attention span for that. Ah, well, I suppose I love you, even if you don't bulge." Cloud clucked again as the others began to catch up.

"Oh, I bulge, Cloud. I bulge."

"Sephiroth!" Cloud shrieked.

"I just wanted to be clear. Are you still happy steering?"

"Yeah, for a little while longer, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. Let me know if you get tired of it."

"You could still hold me, though. If you want." Cloud smiled as Sephiroth wrapped both arms around him and pulled him a little closer. "Sephiroth," he whispered secretively, "It's totally true. You _do_ bulge."

***

Sephiroth groaned loudly as he dismounted; riding all day had made his muscles burn and he was walking funny.

Cloud giggled. "You sound like an old man."

"Just you wait until you get down, little boy," Sephiroth threatened, "We'll see who groans then."

"I think that sounded dirtier than you intended it to," Cloud said as he very carefully swung his right leg over and lowered himself to the ground.

Sephiroth smiled widely. "I could make you groan."

"Oww." Cloud grabbed on tight to Yellow's back to keep himself from falling over. "No need, I can do that just fine on my own."

"Are you two _still_ making innuendos at each other?" Zack said as he hopped off Big Chicken. "Even I'm not that immature."

"We're not imma—oh, sonofabitch, I'm gonna die, Sephiroth—immature. We're getting back into the swing of things."

After removing Yellow's bridle, Sephiroth grabbed Cloud by the shoulders and they hobbled over to a nice-looking log. Was that what they were doing? Getting back into the swing of things? That would be nice. He took one look at the log that, upon closer inspection, was rotting and covered in mould, and decided on sprawling out in the grass instead. Cloud flopped down beside him, close enough that he could rest his head on Sephiroth's shoulder.

"How was your day long hug?" Sephiroth asked.

"I think it was something I really needed," Cloud said, "Thanks. This is a nice spot to camp, isn't it?"

"Hmph," Sephiroth grunted. "We're in a clearing. No cover, no way to prevent ourselves from being surrounded."

"It's pretty!"

"Pretty stupid."

"Witty. There's water nearby, though. Sounds like a big stream, maybe. We could get washed up."

"And that's why Zack picked this spot, I'm sure. Because we certainly can't follow the stream until we find a safe spot to camp, oh no."

"Why didn't you say something? I mean, you might not technically be his superior anymore, but he'd still listen to you."

"Zack never listened to me, even when I was his superior," Sephiroth laughed. "And I didn't say anything because I was sick of riding. Also my hair is disgusting and needs to be washed as soon as possible."

"And here I thought you had magical hair that never got disgusting."

"It does when someone torches a building and dumps all the ash on my head. Even _my_ hair isn't immune to that."

"Did you bring your fancy shampoo and conditioner?"

"Will you laugh at me if I say yes?"

"And answered! I'd say I can't believe that you'd bring it, but that's totally something you'd do." Cloud rolled onto his stomach. "So should we go help get the camp set up and then go take a bath?"

"Ugh, I suppose. Come on, help an old man up, little boy."

Cloud got to his feet and held out a hand to Sephiroth, pulling him up rather easily, Sephiroth noticed. He brushed a few ants off his pants and they walked over to where Zack was deciding on tent placement.

***

Sephiroth twisted his hair and squeezed, wringing the water out. He glanced up to see Cloud dashing across the rocks to the nearby bushes, where he ducked behind a tree and out of sight. He had noticed Cloud had kept his arms held across his chest unless he absolutely had to move them the entire time they had been bathing. He was probably hiding his scars; his chest was where the worst of them were concentrated. As he was attempting to come up with something he could say, Zack called from the campsite.

"Hey, Spiky! You almost done over there? I could use some culinary expertise."

"Coming!" Cloud yelled back, and Sephiroth saw him run off, pulling his shirt over his head as he went.

He finished drying himself off and pulled on his pants. He was in the process of trying to get his hair sorted out when he heard a crunching sound from the bushes. Turning, he saw Tseng coming down to the bank carrying a towel.

"How's the water?" Tseng asked.

"A little chilly," Sephiroth said, "I was glad that Cloud and I are enhanced."

"How's he doing? It seemed like you guys had a pretty good day today. Off in your own little world."

"Yeah, it was good. It was nice just spending time together. He's still nervous though. He keeps trying to hide his scars from me. I can tell that he's ashamed. And I know there's something more that he's hiding. I just don't know how to convince him that it's okay to talk about it."

"You could try telling him your secret," Tseng said as he stripped off his shirt and hung it from a nearby tree branch. "Showing a little trust in him would probably go a long ways in helping him feel like he can trust you."

"My secret?" Sephiroth asked, confused for a moment.

"Your wing, what else?"

"I want to," Sephiroth tried to explain, "I just don't want to scare him. He's been through so much, I don't want to add more to that."

"He has been through a lot, I'm well aware of that. Hojo kept detailed records. But if he knew that you've changed too, maybe it would be easier for him to open up. As for his scars, I think that's something that he's going to need time to get used to. Make sure you make him understand that you aren't put off by them." Tseng pulled his pants off and stepped into the icy water. Sephiroth wondered how he could handle it. It had been fine for him and Cloud, but glacier run-off was never warm, especially not in spring. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd rather not be watched while I bathe."

Sephiroth nodded and grabbed his things. He returned to the campsite to find Cloud yelling at Zack for putting an unopened can in the fire. Settling himself on a stump to watch the show, he considered what Tseng had said. The Turk had to have learned what Cloud was hiding by now, so if he thought it was a good idea for Sephiroth to show Cloud his wing, it probably wouldn't hurt. Just finding the opportunity to do it might be tricky.

***

Dinner had been a simple affair, but filling. Cloud was eating a lot better now and was starting to fill out a little bit, much to Sephiroth's relief. Cloud was yawning by the time their meal was finished, so he excused himself and headed to their tent. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to get a bit more 'getting back in the swing of things' time in, Sephiroth followed shortly after. He hated to admit it, but he also really didn't like leaving Cloud alone for very long. He was within shouting distance, but if Jenova attacked or Cloud had a flashback, shouting distance was awfully far.

"Cloud," he called out softly as he knelt in front of the tent flap, "Can I come in?"

"Uh-huh."

Sephiroth heard some shuffling as he unzipped the tent and pulled off his boots. Cloud was just lying down when he crawled in. "Aren't you hot with that shirt on?"

"Nah, I'm okay." Cloud had Mini-Cloud tucked in tight to his chest, but he loosened his hold a bit when Sephiroth stripped down to his shorts and lay down beside him. Loosening his grip, however, meant that Cloud's left hand, with the one tattooed on it, caught Sephiroth's gaze and he inadvertently stared at it for a few moments. "I'm sorry," Cloud whispered, shoving his hand out of sight.

"What?" It dawned on Sephiroth just what he had been staring at and he could have kicked himself. "Cloud that wasn't—I didn't mean—I'm sorry, I wasn't—" Sephiroth dove after Cloud's hand, shoved underneath his torso, and grabbed onto it. He didn't try to pull it out, however, just held it. "I didn't mean to stare, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. And if I had been thinking, it would have only been about how much I hate Hojo for doing all this to you. Besides, you're not alone in the stupid tattoos department."

"I know... I'm sorry," Cloud mumbled into his chocobo.

"What are you sorry for, Cloud? I don't understand."

"I—he said—said you'd be—said I replaced you. Took your spot."

"Took my spot? You mean the number? Cloud, tell me you're not apologizing because Hojo gave you the top prize too." Sephiroth squeezed Cloud's hand and leaned over him, trying to get a look at his face. "You don't think I'd get mad over something stupid like that, do you?"

"I—I guess not..."

"Because I'm not. And even if I was, we could always fix it."

"How?"

"Look." Sephiroth pulled Cloud's hand out of its hiding spot and held his own up next to it. "We'll just get someone to put a little 'point zero' next to mine and a 'point one' next to yours. Then there'll be no confusion."

"Sephiro~th."

"Wha~t?" Sephiroth mimicked Cloud's whine. "You're the one making a big deal out of something neither of us wanted or had a choice in. Come on." He gently rolled Cloud over until he was lying on top of Sephiroth and held Cloud's face between both hands, pulling him down for a quick kiss. "Stop being silly."

Cloud blushed and gave him a tiny smile. "Thanks." When Sephiroth pulled him down again, Cloud planted several pecks on his lips before lingering longer.

Sephiroth let go of Cloud's face and ran his thumb along Cloud's cheekbone before dragging his fingers through his hair. He traced his fingers down Cloud's spine as they continued to kiss and smirked as Cloud shuddered and gave a slight moan. Cloud shifted so he was propped up on one elbow and used his free hand to begin touching what he could of Sephiroth's face while still maintaining contact with his lips. When his fingers reached the bottom of the shirt, Sephiroth hesitated slightly before very slowly pushing them under the fabric and working his way back up, this time across bare skin. Cloud stilled momentarily as Sephiroth touched a lump, probably a scar, at the base of his spine.

"You're doing great, Cloud," he mumbled, moving past the scar. At least there weren't so many on his back; that would probably help him feel less self-conscious.

Cloud nodded and resumed kissing him, using his tongue to explore the inside of Sephiroth's mouth. Every time Sephiroth touched a scar, Cloud would tense up, but quickly relaxed again when he moved on. It would just take time, Sephiroth told himself. Cloud needed time to get used to being touched again. And to believe that Sephiroth wasn't put off by the scars. And he definitely wasn't feeling put off by them; heat was pooling in his groin and Sephiroth moved his free hand down to Cloud's ass, giving it a gentle squeeze. He rocked his hips upward, pushing into Cloud's and letting him feel his growing erection. Cloud responded by clutching tightly to Sephiroth's shoulders and gasping. Sephiroth could feel Cloud's erection as well, pressing into his stomach.

He continued tracing his hand over Cloud's back while gently rocking his hips. This wasn't really going anywhere, but he had a feeling it was all Cloud could handle for now. When Cloud stopped kissing him and laid his head in the crook of Sephiroth's shoulder, Sephiroth stopped moving his hips and just rubbed Cloud's back.

"Tired?" he asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"It's been a long day. Get some rest, okay? We've got another big one tomorrow."

Cloud nodded. "Okay. Love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight." Sephiroth continued holding Cloud on top of him, long after Cloud's breathing had evened out. It was frustrating, not being able to go further, but at the same time, he was glad that Cloud had been willing to go even that far. It wasn't until the first time he had to wake Cloud from a nightmare that he rolled Cloud off of himself, curling around him and holding him close.

***

Sephiroth smiled to himself as he leaned against the railing on the upper deck of their ship. The last few days had been tiring and it was nice to be able to just relax and let someone else do the work for a while. The ship Reno arranged for them was decent, and the crew were friendly enough. At least he didn't have to worry about hiding the entire trip. The captain apparently had a grudge of some sort against Shin-Ra and was more than happy to help with their little rebellion. And, Sephiroth smiled again as he heard a whoop of delight coming from the bow of the ship, Cloud was having a good time. Apparently one good thing had come out of Cloud's torture; he no longer got motion sickness.

"Sephiroth! Come look!" Cloud shouted for him.

He pushed himself off the railing and went to see what it was this time. Cloud was leaning much further over the edge of the railing than was safe and Sephiroth wrapped an arm around his waist as a precaution. "What is it?" he asked, peering over the edge.

"Just wait a sec, they'll be back." Cloud stared anxiously at the water. "There! Look! Dolphins!" Several dolphins broke the surface of the water, swimming alongside the ship and playing in the waves.

"That's great, Cloud." Sephiroth smiled indulgently, vaguely wondering why this was cause for such excitement.

"Thanks for pretending. And for coming to look. You can go back to what you were doing now." Sephiroth was about to protest that he wasn't pretending when Cloud turned and gave him a wink and a smile. "I really do appreciate it," he said, hopping down from the rail. "I know ships are old news to you."

"But you've never been able to appreciate being on one."

"Exactly."

"I'm glad you're having a good time. You deserve a few of those." Sephiroth pulled Cloud into a hug. "And I will indulge you anytime you want."

***

Cloud's mood was dampened somewhat, when storm clouds rolled in and a heavy rain began falling. The captain assured them that there was nothing to worry about, but Cloud soon retreated to their room and huddled on the bunk, looking miserable.

"Are you feeling sick?" Sephiroth asked.

"No... I just—the weather. It's making me ache."

"Where?" Sephiroth reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of Cloud's eyes.

"All over. My back and my joints and the scars. Everything hurts."

Sephiroth covered Cloud in a thick blanket and turned up the tiny heater in their room. "I'll be right back," he said, crouching beside the bunk. "I'm going to get you something for the pain, okay?"

"Okay."

Sephiroth stole out of the room, and headed off to find the infirmary. There was no one there when he found it, but he began rummaging through the cabinets, hoping to find something suitable. He heard footsteps coming down the hall, but paid them little heed.

"What are you doing?"

Sephiroth turned at the sound of Tseng's voice. "Looking for painkillers. Cloud needs them."

"How bad is he?" Tseng asked.

"Bad enough that he complained, so I'd say pretty bad."

"Hmm, I brought some medications from the lab that I thought might come in handy. I'll give you some of those for him."

"You took meds from the lab?" Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what he thought of that.

"It's unlikely that much regular medication will affect Cloud anymore, so yes, I took meds from the lab." Tseng started walking down the hall towards the bunks and Sephiroth quickly followed.

"Thanks," he said, "For thinking ahead."

"It's what I do." They arrived at Tseng's room and he came out a short while later with a bottle of pills. "Here, they'll probably mess up his head for a while, but they'll do the trick. Give him one and see how he is after an hour. If it hasn't kicked in, give him a second. After that, every four hours."

Sephiroth took the bottle and studied it carefully; it didn't even have a proper label, just a string of numbers and letters written on a sticker. "How do you know so much about this? I grew up in the lab and I don't even know."

"Like I said," Tseng shrugged, "It's what I do. I also took the notebook with the explanations of the meds. An assistant wrote it, so it's a lot more coherent than Hojo's ramblings. It also makes a nice break from reading about torture. Although I must say, I was surprised they had painkillers for him."

"That is strange; maybe someone felt sorry for him. Thanks. I appreciate it."

Sephiroth headed back towards his room after grabbing a glass of water. Cloud barely glanced up when Sephiroth shut the door behind him. He took two small steps over to the bunk and knelt down beside it, setting the glass on the floor. He tipped out a pill and handed it to Cloud, followed by the water. "Here, Tseng said they'll work on you. And if it's not better in an hour, tell me and I'll give you another one."

Cloud nodded and dutifully swallowed the pill. "Thank you."

"Can I hold you while we're waiting for it to kick in?"

Cloud sighed, "Did anyone ever mention that you spoil me too much?"

"Nope, must not have gotten that memo." Sephiroth pulled off his boots and coat and crawled into the small bunk next to Cloud. "It's a good thing, too. Spoiling you is one of my favourite things. Comfy?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." Cloud curled up in a ball, resting his head on Sephiroth's shoulder. Sephiroth could feel Cloud trembling slightly, most likely from the pain, but he wrapped the blanket carefully around him anyways.

"Try and get some rest, if you can."

"Doubt I'll be able to."

"Just try. Shut your eyes." Sephiroth ran his fingers soothingly through Cloud's hair and rubbed his temples. Cloud closed his eyes, but it was pretty obvious that he was too miserable to sleep right now. He kept his eye on the clock while Cloud shifted and winced, trying to find a comfortable position. It didn't help that the ship kept rocking, causing them both to rock with it. After forty-five minutes, Sephiroth had had enough. He grabbed the pills again and tipped out another one. "Here, Cloud. It's been long enough."

"Kay." Cloud swallowed the pill and lay back down. It took another twenty minutes or so before it finally seemed to make a difference and Cloud nodded off into a fitful sleep.

Sephiroth managed to grab a book out of his bag without disturbing Cloud. It was far too early to be sleeping, so he read while keeping watch over him. When a little over three hours had passed, Cloud stirred and opened his eyes.

"Hey, Cloud. How're you feeling?" Sephiroth asked.

"A'right," Cloud slurred. He tried to sit up a little and Sephiroth dropped his book as Cloud gasped in pain. "'M okay. S'nothin'."

"Cloud..." Sephiroth began before changing his mind. "Do you want another pill?"

Cloud nodded and Sephiroth handed one over. "C'n I have... summin... eat? Crackers or I dunno..."

"Sure you can." Crackers were probably a really good idea. Cloud sounded absolutely out of it. Out of it enough that Sephiroth was worried about leaving him unsupervised long enough to go get the crackers. He reached for his PHS, planning to call someone, either to get crackers or to watch Cloud, but remembered that there was no signal out here. Sephiroth very carefully extracted himself from underneath Cloud and slipped out the door. He listened at Zack and Aerith's door and, hearing some movement, knocked. He heard muffled grumbling before the door was opened a crack and Zack peered out.

"What is it, Seph? We're busy," Zack said.

Oh, they had been... "Sorry to interrupt, I didn't mean—"

"Just tell me what you needed, Seph."

"I was just going to ask if you could watch Cloud for a minute while I go get him something to eat. He's really out of it and I'm worried that he could fall and hurt himself or something."

Zack sighed and dropped his forehead against the door's edge a couple times. "Half a sec, let me put some pants on."

"Sorry," Sephiroth said when Zack came out a few moments later. "I would have gotten Tseng if I had known."

"I know, I know. You don't mean to be a cockblock, I'm sure."

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizing and go get him some food." Zack gave Sephiroth a hard shove down the hallway and entered the room. "Hey, Spiky, the babysitter's here."

Sephiroth ran for the kitchen and searched the cupboards for crackers as fast as he could. He really would have gotten Tseng if he had known. Or guessed. He should have guessed. When he got back to the room, he heard Zack's voice coming through the door.

"Spike? Cloud, you okay, man? Talk to—whoa!" There were some thumps and what sounded like a snarl. Sephiroth dropped the bag of crackers and threw the door open.

"Cloud?" He rushed in to find Cloud sprawled on the floor, limbs tangled in the sheets and snarling while he tried to untangle himself. "Shit," he swore and dropped to Cloud's side, intending to hold him down while he booted Jenova out.

"Wha—my bo-ee do? Trai-or. How?" Cloud struggled to lift an arm and attempted to swing it in Sephiroth's direction, missing completely.

"Seph, hold up, I think she can't control him like this," Zack said, crouching down as well. "He tried to stand up, but it was like he couldn't coordinate his legs and just fell over."

Sephiroth considered it; Cloud had been out of it, yes, but he had been able to hold a pill and drink from a glass. "Go get Tseng, he should see this."

Zack got up and ran for Tseng's room while Sephiroth pulled Cloud's flailing body into his arms and held him still. Sephiroth was more worried about _Cloud_ getting hurt than he was about his own safety. If Jenova actually managed to do any damage to him in this state, he'd never live it down. But she had already made Cloud fall once and that was one too many times.

"Off—off me!"

"Not a chance, Jenova." He pinned Cloud's arms with one arm and scratched his fingers through Cloud's hair with the other. He was pretty sure Cloud would at least be able to realize he was doing it, and the show of affection served to annoy Jenova as well. "Just hang on a minute, Cloud."

He heard booted footsteps coming back up the hallway and Tseng and Zack came running into the room. Cloud let out a cross between a wail and a snarl when he saw them and struggled a bit harder against Sephiroth's hold.

"Wow," Tseng said, "She really can't do more than that?" Sephiroth shook his head and Tseng seemed to be thinking a moment. "Can you let him up? I'd like to see him try walking myself."

"All right, but if he falls again, I'm catching him."

"Of course."

Sephiroth pulled the blankets away from Cloud's legs so he'd have an easier time getting up and then let go and stepped away before Cloud had a chance to do anything more than flap an arm at him. Cloud fought to get his legs underneath himself and managed to push himself up into a sitting position. His movements were completely uncoordinated, however. It was like his brain was sending the signals, but they weren't reaching his limbs until a long while later. If they got there at all. Cloud somehow launched himself up towards Sephiroth, but his legs didn't appear to get the message and he tripped, falling back down. Sephiroth caught him just before he hit the floor.

"What's the matter, Jenova?" Zack sniggered from the doorway.

"Please don't antagonize her, Zack. Any ideas about why she's having such a hard time, Tseng? He wasn't this bad before." Sephiroth figured that if anyone knew, or could guess, it would be Tseng.

"I _suspect_ that Jenova doesn't exactly give Cloud orders, like you do, Sephiroth. I think she takes over his nervous system and controls him like it's her own body. At least that's the impression I've been getting from the journals. She's supposed to be able to completely merge into his body eventually. That's probably why she's having trouble; it's not her body and since he's drugged, it's making controlling it a lot harder than it would be if it was her own."

"Why would she want a new body?" Zack asked no one in particular and jumped in surprise when Cloud answered.

"Mine! Need... mine... sail stars need." Cloud turned and glared at Sephiroth. "Fail... you fail-er... need new. This be-er."

"Maybe her old one is getting too old," Tseng suggested.

"True," Zack said, "It didn't exactly look like it was in the best of shape when we saw it last. And it's so hard to go out in public with tentacles these days. And you're clearly not a suitable candidate anymore, Seph."

"Are we done here?" Sephiroth asked. "This can't be fun for Cloud."

"Yes, I've seen enough," Tseng said. "Go ahead and kick her out, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth shut his eyes and reached out, giving Jenova a hard shove out of Cloud's mind. She went easily; maybe she had been reaching her limit, or she decided it wasn't worth the fight this time, either way, Sephiroth felt a surge of relief coming from Cloud and he let go right away, gathering Cloud into his arms and lifting him back onto the bed.

"Sorry, baby," Sephiroth whispered. Cloud was shaking badly and Sephiroth really regretted waiting that long to help him. He didn't think the information they got was worth it. "I'm sorry."

Cloud didn't say anything, just curled into a ball and shut his eyes. Zack grabbed the package of crackers from the hallway and set the by the bed. "You guys gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Sephiroth picked the blankets up off the floor and covered Cloud. "You can yell at me tomorrow, baby. When you're feeling better."

"Not baby," Cloud muttered, pulling the blankets tighter around him.

"Sorry, Cloud." Sephiroth heard Zack and Tseng go out, shutting the door quietly behind them. He got up and put on his sleep pants before crawling back into the bed and hovering uncertainly, wondering how mad Cloud was. "Sorry."

"Stop 'pologizng. Mad t'morrow, sleep now."

"Okay. That works. Wake me up if you need anything." It didn't take long for Cloud to fall asleep this time, though Sephiroth spent a long time wondering just how much trouble he'd be in tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pretend has been ruined and there's an ever so slight possibility that "steering" is in fact the correct word. I however, choose to make my own pretend, and maintain that chocobo directing uses a different word. I just don't know what it is.


	15. Chapter 15

Their group arrived in Kalm well past the middle of the night, after pushing to get there after arriving at the port in the early afternoon. Cloud was dead asleep in Sephiroth's arms and Zack helped Sephiroth dismount without disturbing him.

"Thanks," he said, easing Cloud down from Yellow's back. The chocobo stood oddly still while he did so, as if he understood that Sephiroth was trying not to wake Cloud.

"No problem." Zack began removing the tack from Yellow while Sephiroth waited with Cloud. "So, how mad was he? I mean, he didn't seem mad today. Did you get yelled at?"

"No, he didn't yell. He wanted to know why I had waited and he seemed okay with my explanation. Then he gave me that look that means he's really serious and said that he'd take it as a kindness if I didn't do it again."

"Yeah, I guess even if she's not successfully controlling him, it still sucks having someone in your brain."

"I think that's exactly it. I just wish we could have gotten something more useful from her."

"You mean other than rambling about sailing the stars?" Zack led Yellow into one of the stalls and put some greens in the trough. Big Chicken started warking, wanting more greens as well, which set off the other chocobos.

Sephiroth laid his hand over Cloud's ear, hoping the noise wouldn't wake him while Zack began doling out more greens to shut them up. "Yeah, although, that is interesting to know. In Nibelheim... before... she kept telling me that we would return to the stars. Apparently that's still her plan."

"Well she could go back to the stars if she wants; I won't miss her. Just as long as she doesn't bring Spike along for the ride."

"Problem with that is, I got the impression that the planet needed to be destroyed in order for her to get to the stars."

"Oh. That might put a damper on the farewell party. Guess we'll just have to kill her then." Zack grabbed their packs and led the way into the inn. Aerith and Tseng had gone ahead and Aerith was waiting by the counter with their room keys.

"Need any help getting settled?" Zack asked after opening Sephiroth's door for him.

"No, I think I'll be okay. Thanks."

"All right, have a good night then. Um, if you don't mind, if you need anything in the night, could your first choice be Tseng?"

Sephiroth laughed when he heard Aerith giggle from their doorway. "Yeah, I can do that. I really am sorry about that."

"No worries. Just... tonight's our last night together for a while, you know."

"I know, enjoy it, I won't bother you."

"Thanks, Seph. Night."

Sephiroth shut the door with his foot and lay Cloud down on the bed. He was amazed that Cloud hadn't yet woken, but supposed that he was probably pretty tired after the night before. Cloud hadn't slept well at all, between the nightmares and waking up from the pain. He wondered if it would get better over time, or if this was just something that Cloud would learn to deal with, like he had his hand. Sephiroth let out a heavy sigh at that thought; pain wasn't something you should have to get used to.

It didn't take long for him to get Cloud into bed and crawled in beside him. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would tell Cloud about his wing, and hopefully that would help Cloud feel more comfortable.

***

Zack and Tseng left for Midgar early in the morning. They had decided to go on foot, rather than dealing with chocobos in the city. It would also be easier to get in unnoticed that way. Both Cloud and Sephiroth were still mostly asleep when they left, but they stumbled downstairs to wish them goodbye and good luck, before going back up to bed. When they woke up again a few hours later, Sephiroth went downstairs to find some breakfast for them. He knocked on Aerith's door to see if she wanted him to get anything for her, but she said she'd just come with him.

"I... I was planning on talking to Cloud today," Sephiroth said as they looked over the menu. "About the wing."

"It's about time," Aerith said, elbowing him in the ribs. "I don't know what you've been so scared of."

"I'm scared of scaring him."

"Your boyfriend copes with aliens in his head, Sephiroth. A wing isn't going to scare him."

"The alien in his head scares him," Sephiroth pointed out.

"And the alien is a lot scarier than some stupid wing. Trust me, Sephiroth, it will be a shock, yes, but he won't be scared of you. And he _will_ understand. And still love you. Decided what you want yet?"

***

Sephiroth entered the room quietly when he came back from returning their dishes, not wanting to disturb Cloud if he had fallen back to sleep. But he was still sitting up, staring out the window with a faraway look in his eye. Sephiroth breathed a sigh of relief; he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Aerith said that Cloud would understand, but he wasn't so sure. It was a lot of understanding to ask of someone.

"Cloud, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Cloud turned slowly to face him and nodded. "Okay, come sit down."

Sephiroth went and sat on the edge of the bed, but Cloud tugged on his arm until he moved closer. "There's something I need to show you. It's... kind of hard to explain, I'm not even sure how it happened, but, well, it'll be easier just to show you."

"Okay, go ahead."

"It'll probably startle you, but I promise, there's nothing to be scared of."

"Just show me, Sephiroth. I promise not to be scared. I'm not going to break."

Sephiroth wanted to believe that, but Cloud looked so fragile right now. He was still incredibly underweight, despite the effort he had been putting into eating more, and his eyes had a tendency to dart around nervously. Sephiroth sighed, he had to do this now; he had waited too long already. "Okay." Sephiroth concentrated and felt the wing burst into existence from his right shoulder blade.

He looked up to see Cloud reaching out to touch the black feathers with an awed expression on his face. He let Cloud run his fingers through them and leaned forward when Cloud tugged on his shoulder, wanting to see his back. He felt him touching curiously around the area where the wing was connected to his back. It felt strange; no one had actually touched the thing yet. Even he hadn't, not really. He didn't even know what it looked like at the connection.

"Will you teach me how to do that?" Cloud asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Teach him how to do what?

"Your coat's not torn. I always tear my shirt pretty much in half whenever it comes out. Will you teach me how to not tear it?"

"You… have a wing too?" Sephiroth supposed he shouldn't be surprised; this was Hojo they were dealing with, after all.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't say anything, I was… scared."

Sephiroth nodded, so this was what Cloud had been frightened of. No wonder Tseng had wanted him to tell Cloud about his. "I understand, it was hard enough for me to tell you, and I had three people pestering me to do it and telling me it would be all right. It was there when we were in the Lifestream, so Zack saw it right away. The others too, when they came to pick us up. I—I wasn't sure what you'd think. It's pretty freakish."

Cloud snorted. "Isn't it just thrilling being a madman's science project? Well, I guess we can be freaks together."

"Can I see yours?"

"I—I guess, but, um, Hojo, he—he—well, it looks pretty bad."

"Okay." Sephiroth wasn't sure what to expect, but he tried to prepare himself for the worst as Cloud pulled his shirt over his head. If this was what had been causing most of his pain, 'pretty bad' was probably an understatement. Cloud held his shirt in front of his chest, keeping the scars covered, and shut his eyes in concentration. Black feathers burst out of the left side of Cloud's back and scattered across the bed and Sephiroth saw a few drops of blood splatter around. He looked up at the quivering wing and nearly vomited. He was going to help Cloud torture Hojo a few days longer just for this.

The humerus was broken almost completely in half, with the bone sticking out through the skin, so the majority of the appendage was hanging uselessly with blood dripping from its tip and feathers sticking out at odd angles. There were large, bleeding bald spots where it looked like the feathers had been torn out, and there was heavy scarring around the connection to his back. The whole wing was twitching and shuddering; it clearly hurt too much for Cloud to keep it still.

"He's seeing if it can heal when it's wherever it goes when it's not out," Cloud explained as Sephiroth stared in horror. "So far, the answer's no, which is very disappointing."

"Cloud…" Sephiroth said weakly. He shook his head violently to clear it, now wasn't the time to break down. First they would fix this, _then_ they would cry. "Okay, I'm going to get Aerith; Tseng left the medications he took from the lab with her, and hopefully some of them were better painkillers than the ones he gave us before. I've got no clue how to fix a broken wing, but I'll find someone who does and we'll get it fixed, okay?"

Cloud trembled, but nodded his head in hesitant agreement. The pain was showing on his face and he looked like he was struggling not to cry.

"Okay, I'll be right back." He went out into the hall and knocked on Aerith's door. "It's me, Aerith." She called for him to come in and he did so, shutting the door behind him.

"Did you tell—what happened, Sephiroth? You've got blood on your face." Aerith dropped her book and rushed over with a handkerchief, trying to wipe it away, but Sephiroth jerked back.

"Never mind, listen, where are the painkillers?"

"Just over here. Why?"

"Cloud needs them, the strongest, fastest working ones you've got. Now." Aerith stopped asking questions and hurried over to her bag. Sephiroth elaborated a bit while she was looking through it. "Cloud has a wing too, only Hojo thought it would be fun to play with. Can you heal broken wings?"

"I've never done it before, but I can try if I have to." Aerith was all business now; she didn't even look surprised at the revelation that Cloud had a wing. "Here," she handed him a small vial and a syringe, "Give that to Cloud, I'm going to go find a vet."

"A vet?"

"Yes, a vet." Aerith violently shoved her feet into her boots as she spoke. "Human doctors have no clue what to do with wings, most vets deal with birds. That's probably the best we're going to be able to get. If I can't find one, I'll heal him myself. Now go." With that, Aerith was out the door and running down the stairs with her ponytail flying behind her.

***

Sephiroth re-entered the room and saw Cloud clinging to the headboard with tears running silently down his face. He hurried over and quickly swiped Cloud's inner elbow with an alcohol pad before injecting the medication. He could see the relief in Cloud's face almost immediately as the painkiller took effect. He was so glad that Tseng had taken the drugs from the lab, despite his initial misgivings; seeing Cloud in that much pain was heart wrenching. Sephiroth pulled Cloud carefully into his arms, taking care not to jostle his wing. Cloud pressed his wet face into Sephiroth's shoulder and took several deep, shuddering breaths while Sephiroth rocked him gently and murmured encouragement in his ear.

"We're going to fix this, all right? We're going to make it better, I promise. Aerith's gone to get a vet, hopefully they'll know what to do."

"A doctor?" Cloud struggled feebly, but Sephiroth held him as still as he could; he didn't want Cloud to hurt himself even more. "No, please, I don't want—I'm scared, Sephiroth, no, please don't do this to me. Please."

"Shh, shh. Calm down, Cloud. Calm down. I'm sorry, but we _have_ to have a doctor look at it. Neither Aerith, nor I, know how to heal wings and this isn't something simple like taking out staples. If we heal it wrong, you could be in pain for the rest of your life and I am _not_ risking that. But I promise, I _promise_ , I won't let him do anything unnecessary. I won't let go of you the entire time. I promise."

"No, no, Sephiroth, please. I can't. Just heal it yourself, I don't mind. It's not bad at all when it's away. If it's healed, even healed wrong, it probably won't hurt at all if I don't take it out ever."

"Cloud, I can't risk that," Sephiroth explained, while trying to come up with possible alternatives. "You don't _know_ it won't hurt. What if Aerith has some sedatives too? Do you trust me to keep you safe if you just sleep through the whole thing?"

"I…" Cloud paused to consider it. "I—yeah, I think so. You won't let them do any experiments?"

"No. No experiments. No tests. Never again."

Cloud nodded slowly. "Okay, I think that would be all right. Just, don't let go, okay?"

"Okay." Sephiroth continued holding Cloud and stroking his hair. "I promise, everything will be all right. I'll hold on to you the entire time."

***

Sephiroth heard a loud, male voice in the hall and looked up, hopefully that was Aerith, back with a vet.

"I told you, I don't make house calls, miss. Don't know why you couldn't have just brought your bird with you when you came to get me."

"And I told _you_ , I don't care if you make house calls or not. This is an emergency, now hurry up." There was a knock at the door and Aerith called out, "It's me," and opened it without waiting for a reply.

A muscular man with greying hair was pushed through the door and Aerith followed close behind, shutting and locking the door behind her. The man stared, with his mouth hanging open, at Cloud, who, fortunately, still had his face pressed into Sephiroth's shoulder and couldn't see.

"You're not to speak of this to anyone," Sephiroth said matter-of-factly. "You're not to cause him any unnecessary pain. You are not to perform any unnecessary procedures, and you are _not_ to fuck this up. There's a very large sword with your name on it if you do any of those things."

"Sephiroth, would you try not to _immediately_ start threatening people?" Aerith wagged her finger at him as she came over to crouch down next to them. "Cloud, this is Dr. Cooper. He's a vet that specializes in birds and chocobos. Is it okay if he takes a look at your wing?"

Cloud shook his head and clung to Sephiroth even tighter.

"Do you have any sedatives?" Sephiroth asked quickly. "He wants to be asleep for it."

"I'll go check. Doctor, please wait here." Aerith ran out of the room while Dr. Cooper continued to stare with wide eyes. She came back shortly with her bag of medications and the notebook that went with it and dumped them out on the table. "I'm not sure exactly which ones do what. I haven't had time to memorize the whole thing like Tseng did. I know the names of the painkillers, but that's about it."

The doctor seemed to gather himself and pulled his gaze away from Cloud. "Let me take a look at those, miss." Aerith stepped to the side and let Dr. Cooper look through the various vials and bottles. "Where did you people get these? Most of them don't have labels and I've never even _heard_ of half the ones that have labels."

"A mad scientist's lab," was Aerith's simple, but true, explanation.

The doctor took another glance at Cloud and nodded. "I see. Well, this _should_ work." He held up a vial. "I'm not certain, due to your friend's… abnormalities, but if it doesn't work, it won't do him any harm, either."

"He's not abnormal," Sephiroth hissed angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Dr. Cooper was quick to apologize. "I didn't mean to imply tha—"

"Calm down, Doctor," Aerith said. "And, like it or not, Sephiroth, wings _aren't_ normal on people. We all know that that doesn't mean that anything's _wrong_ with him."

"Whatever, just sedate him already. He's getting upset." Cloud wasn't showing many visible signs of distress, but his breathing had sped up, his heart was beating alarmingly fast, and Sephiroth could feel the tiny vibrations from Cloud trying not to shake. "Shh," he whispered, "You're going to be fine. I won't let him hurt you."

Aerith gently took Cloud's arm and injected the sedative while Sephiroth rocked him.

"'M scared," Cloud whimpered softly.

"I know. It's going to be okay, I promise." The drugs took effect gradually and Sephiroth felt Cloud's heart rate and breathing slow down to a more normal pace. Finally, Sephiroth nodded. "I think he's out."

Dr. Cooper cautiously came a bit closer. "Is it okay if I touch him? I need to take a better look at the damage." Sephiroth nodded slowly and shifted Cloud slightly so the wing was a bit better exposed. The doctor put on a pair of gloves, then leaned in and gently prodded the area surrounding the broken bone, tsking quietly. "This is… I've never seen a wing damaged quite this extensively before. Was it intentional?"

"Yes. Every ounce of pain that man causes is intentional," Sephiroth stroked Cloud's hair as he spoke, as if it would somehow comfort him.

"I—I don't want to upset you, but the best thing for it might be amputation. I honestly don't know if I can fix this."

"No. We're not amputating." Cloud was having enough trouble adjusting to all the 'changes' Hojo had made. If he ended up an amputee on top of all that, Sephiroth wasn't sure how he'd cope. Besides, if they both had wings, they could take comfort in being freaks together. At least, Sephiroth liked the idea that Cloud had one too.

"It's a non-essential limb—"

"No. Besides, it's not something I can just agree to without asking Cloud. And no, we're not waking him up to ask him. I want him treated and you gone before he wakes up."

Dr. Cooper sighed heavily. "I just… I don't know what I can do with this. The flesh wounds are mostly superficial, even if they look bad. But there's muscle tearing around the bone and it's quite swollen. That will make it difficult to set properly."

Sephiroth felt his face contorting into a look of pure rage and Dr. Cooper recoiled a bit in fear. Aerith must have noticed, because she was quick to jump in. "It's not _you_ he's mad at, Doctor. Please, try your best."

"I—if we could take him back to my practice, I could operate. X-rays would also make it a lot easier. The swelling is making it difficult to just feel where the bones should go."

"No."

"Sephiroth, be reasonable. I'm sure that Dr. Cooper could do a much better job if he had access to the proper equipment. We could keep Cloud out while he's there and move him back to the inn before he wakes up. He'd never need to know."

"No." Sephiroth was growing frustrated. Why didn't they understand? "One, I'm not lying to him. Two, we've both had more than enough of doctors and operating rooms. And three, I promised him that I'd keep him safe. Hauling him off to a lab while he's unaware doesn't count as keeping him safe."

"I—I understand your reluctance, but i—if I were to fix it surgically, I would be certain of having set the bone correctly. Wings are very delicate, and judging by how light it is, this is a hollow bone, like a hawk or sparrow, instead of solid like a chocobo."

"Isn't any of your equipment portable?"

"I have a few pieces I could bring here, but there's also the problem of this being an inn room. It's not exactly sterile."

"We can deal with infections. You just need to get it set so it can be healed. Besides, I also promised that I'd hold him the entire time. You probably won't let me do that in an OR."

Aerith sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "It's your call, Sephiroth. If you're willing to take that risk, it's on your shoulders. We'll sterilize this place the best we can. Doctor, can you bring the equipment here yourself or do you need me to come with you?"

"I can manage on my own."

"If you run off—"

"Sephiroth! I know you're upset and worried, but that is no way to talk to someone who's trying to help us! Smarten up!" Aerith smacked him upside the head and turned back to Dr. Cooper. "I'm going to go get some supplies for sterilizing then. Is there anything else we need?"

"See if you can find a good, bright light. Everything else, I'll bring from the practice."

"You've got it. Thank you, Doctor, for doing this. We really appreciate it."

"Yeah," Sephiroth reluctantly grumbled, "Thanks."

***

Dr. Cooper came back first with a load of heavy equipment, checked on Cloud, and then went back for a second trip. Aerith arrived with a light and headed out again for the sterilization supplies. Sephiroth felt absolutely useless while he waited, but Cloud needed him here. Aerith came back and began sterilizing shortly after Dr. Cooper left for his third load.

"At least he's enhanced now," Aerith puffed as she scrubbed the floor. "The mako will help him fight off infections."

"I'm sorry. He just... I know he wouldn't want me to take him to an operating room."

"I understand, Sephiroth, and I don't mind. The mako _will_ help. I wasn't being sarcastic. And I think you made the right decision, about the amputation. It might be easier, but I don't think Cloud would be happy about it. He's had enough things done to him without permission."

When Dr. Cooper returned once more, he looked around the room with a critical eye. "Are you willing to let go of him long enough to scrub and change into a gown?" he asked Sephiroth.

"I can stay with Cloud," Aerith said. "You really should."

Sephiroth wavered, but eventually nodded. It took a while, but they all managed to get scrubbed up and sterile sheets were draped everywhere. The vet didn't look overly pleased with the arrangement, but there wasn't a lot more they could do. They had Cloud lying on his stomach on top of Sephiroth, who had been instructed to keep him still. Cloud was hooked up to a variety of monitors that beeped annoyingly, telling them that he was still doing fine, and an IV was in his arm, keeping him hydrated.

"I cannot _believe_ I'm about to operate on someone lying on top of another person," Dr. Cooper muttered. "On a bed! Miss, I'm going to need your assistance. If you could lift the wing, I'll slide a sheet underneath."

Sephiroth had trouble watching what the doctor was doing; it looked too painful and he couldn't get over the fact that this was _Cloud_ they were working on. Aerith, on the other hand, had no such trouble, and even Sephiroth could tell that she was doing a great job assisting. Even when it came to the really difficult things, like when Dr. Cooper asked her to extend the wing fully and keep it there. The bones may have been hollow, but it wasn't exactly small and he could see that Aerith was straining to hold it up. But she held it steady and the doctor was able to do whatever it was that he needed to do.

The only time Sephiroth was actually required to participate was when they needed counter-traction to reset the bone.

"Be easiest if you just brace him like this," Dr. Cooper moved Sephiroth's hands to where he wanted them, "And hold him steady. Got it? Don't let him move."

"I've got it."

"Okay, on three." There was a sickening noise when the man counted three and Sephiroth had to look away. He didn't let Cloud move, however. "Good, you can ease up now."

Sephiroth looked back and saw Dr. Cooper inspecting the wound. The bone looked like it was back in place and the man was nodding as he felt around the area.

"Is it okay?"

"I think it might be. Hard to tell for sure, since I can't take X-rays, but I think so."

Dr. Cooper then moved on to repairing the damaged muscles and Sephiroth zoned out, focusing solely on Cloud. He couldn't pet Cloud's hair; gloves and a hair cap got in the way of that, but he settled for laying his hand on the side of Cloud's face, avoiding the oxygen mask. He wasn't sure how much time had passed before the vet finally set down his equipment and declared that he had done everything he could.

"I'll set the bone with a splint, then I'd like to wait a few days before you try to heal him with magic. I want to wait for the swelling to go down and be sure that everything's in place so we don't have to re-break it."

"I can target my spells well enough that I'll be able to heal the other parts, like where the feathers were torn out, without affecting the bone," Aerith said. "Can I do that? Just so he's not in so much pain."

"Yes, if you're sure you can, I don't have a problem with it." Dr. Cooper watched curiously as Aerith cast her spells. "I don't see a lot of magic working in a vet clinic. That's truly amazing." He reached out to touch one of the newly healed patches. "There's no scarring at all; the new feathers should be able to come in relatively normally."

"Good," Sephiroth said quietly. "That will be good."

"I should warn you, though, it will never look completely normal. The bone will always be a little bit deformed; too much time passed between the initial injury and now. There's a lot of scar tissue and new bone growth that can't be gotten rid of easily. But it should function... as much as one wing can, I suppose."

"Okay." Sephiroth supposed that he couldn't ask for more than what the vet had already done. But he hoped, for Cloud's sake, that it wouldn't look too bad. "Thank you. I really appreciate you helping him."

"You're welcome. I'll leave some instructions with Miss Gainsborough before I go and I'll come back to check on him tomorrow. If that's all right?"

"Yes, I'll talk to him. It'll be all right."

Aerith had been cleaning up and gathering all the things that would be going back to the vet's office together. "I'll help you take this back," she said.

"Thank you, miss. You were an excellent assistant. Have you ever considered medical school?"

Aerith laughed and twirled a finger through her hair. "I'm just a flower girl. But maybe... one day when I've got some time."

"If you want to go to medical school," Sephiroth said, "I'll make Rufus pay for it."

"Don't be silly, Sephiroth."

"I'm not. Let's face it, when everything's said and done, we're still going to need someone who can take care of SOLDIERs. I'd trust you a hell of a lot more than I would anyone else."

Aerith looked a little stunned, but shrugged and picked up a box of equipment. "I'll think about it," she said, heading out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer A/N: I'm not a doctor and I always fall asleep through surgeries.


	16. Chapter 16

Cloud paced around the small room restlessly. It had been three days since he had woken up with that stupid wing splinted. Three days of not being able to hide it. Three days of not being able to leave the room just to go downstairs for something to eat because he was a freak. He couldn't even wear a shirt to cover his scars and felt sick every time he glanced down. They tried not to show it, but every time Sephiroth or Aerith came in, their eyes always went straight to either the monstrosity on his back or his chest. The doctor was the worst, though. He always seemed like... like he wanted to do more than just check for infection and see that the swelling was going down. Cloud was pretty sure he was imagining it; Sephiroth wouldn't have let someone like Hojo near him, but that knowledge didn't make it much better.

The first time Dr. Cooper had come back, Sephiroth had refused to sedate him again, no matter how much Cloud had begged him to. Cloud worked himself into such a state that he hyperventilated and fainted. He came to with the doctor leaning over him and panicked; it had taken Sephiroth entering his mind to get him to calm down. And by the time Sephiroth had been willing to do that, Cloud had pretty much destroyed everything in the room. Their new room was nicer, though. It had a pretty view of the town and a little ottoman that Sephiroth had pulled over to the window for him. He could sit on it with his wing hanging over the back and look out.

He sighed and sat down on the ottoman, grabbing the newspaper that Sephiroth had brought up with breakfast. The headline read "Valuable Artifact Stolen!"

 _A tremendously valuable artifact, identified as an item known as "The Keystone" has been reported stolen by Dio Fernandez, owner of the Gold Saucer. Mr. Fernandez keeps a collection of rare and valuable items in his showcase next to Battle Square at the Gold Saucer. There was a security breach at some point during the night, however, the details of the breach are unknown at this point in time. Mr. Fernandez has declined to comment, instead sending a representative, who informed us that the artifact in question most likely was created by the Ancients, although its purpose is unknown. The representative was unable to answer questions as to why the item might have been stolen; saying only that its resale value would be quite high._

"Thrilling," Cloud muttered, tossing the paper down again and staring out the window. "Just thrilling." He wished he could go outside, but he couldn't. Not like this. He knew that they were supposed to be hiding, and he didn't want people to see him like this anyway, but it had still hurt when Sephiroth had sat down and told him that he had to stay in the room until he recovered. He knew it wasn't true, but he couldn't help but feel like Sephiroth was ashamed of him. "Not to mention I'm going stir-crazy, locked up in here," he muttered to himself with his head in his hands.

He wondered what was taking Sephiroth so long; a food and entertainment run shouldn't be taking this long, at least Cloud didn't think so. What if something had happened? What if Sephiroth had been caught? No, that was stupid, Sephiroth wouldn't be caught. But what if he had had enough and wasn't coming back? What if everything Hojo had told him was true? Cloud felt his breath beginning to come in short gasps and recognized the signs that he was having a panic attack. He tried to think calming thoughts; of course Sephiroth wouldn't just leave him. "He loves me, he loves me," Cloud chanted to himself. "He's coming back. It's only been half an hour. He's coming back."

It was going to be okay. Cloud felt himself beginning to calm down and smiled. He hadn't panicked! He had gotten through it all on his own! Needing a distraction, Cloud picked up the newspaper again and turned the page. On the third page, however, was an article that made his blood run cold.

"Terrorist Attacks in Midgar; AVALANCHE Suspected"

He got as far as ' _Eco-terrorist group, AVALANCHE,_ ' in the article, before he dropped the paper and ran to the bathroom to throw up, banging his wing on the doorframe as he went. The pain was nothing, however, compared to the fear. After several long minutes of retching into the toilet bowl, Cloud collapsed against the tub, gasping and wheezing, while images flashed through his mind. He could hear the man's mocking voice, like he was right here in the room, and the cold tiles of the floor felt too much like the floor in that place. How—how could they still be out there? There was a sharp pain in his back and Cloud _swore_ he heard a whip crack to go with it. He cradled his right hand against his chest and sobbed.

He didn't notice when someone came in; he didn't notice much of anything, in fact, too lost in his waking nightmare to pay attention to reality. He only noticed when someone grabbed onto him and tried to pick him up. Cloud screamed and kicked out, trying to get away. He didn't want that! He couldn't!

"Cloud, calm down," a voice said next to his ear, "It's just me. No one's going to hurt you."

The person holding him was so gentle; Cloud stopped struggling for a moment. "Se—?"

"Yeah, it's me, Cloud. You're okay now. What happened?" Sephiroth adjusted his grip on Cloud, now that he had stopped fighting, and held him close with his head tucked under Sephiroth's chin. A gentle hand was rubbing his lower back and Cloud clutched tightly to his source of safety. "What happened?" Sephiroth asked again.

"It—it—newspaper—it—"

Sephiroth must have seen the dropped paper, because he swooped down to pick it up. Cloud trembled in Sephiroth's arms while the man tried to read the paper with one hand. "What part?" he asked.

"Page three... terrorists."

Sephiroth flipped pages and shook the paper to straighten it out and there was a moment's silence. "Oh, shit, Cloud. Cloud, it's not the same. AVALANCHE was wiped out, I promise. I saw to it myself." Sephiroth dropped the paper and squeezed Cloud tightly. "Listen to me, baby, the people who hurt us are dead. The people who worked for the people who hurt us are dead. AVALANCHE is gone. I promise."

"It—it said..."

"I know. I see that. But it's not the same. Either the MPs are idiots, or there's a new group out there that stole AVALANCHE's name. They're gone, Cloud, they're all dead. These are just a bunch of amateur assholes trying to scare people."

Sephiroth sat down on the ottoman and shuffled Cloud around a little bit. Cloud wasn't quite sure what he was doing, until he heard a rustling sound and a giant black wing wrapped around him. It must have been a bit awkward, trying to fold it around without knocking Cloud's own wing, but Sephiroth managed. The feathers were soft and tickly and Cloud felt like there was a wall between him and the outside world. Nothing could hurt him here; he was safe. He shut his eyes and concentrated on breathing. Sephiroth must be right; these people were new. It was just a name. Just a name.

After a long while of just sitting there in silence, Cloud finally calmed down enough to feel like speaking. "Why haven't you brought it out before? Like, since you first showed me, I mean."

"The wing? Well, I wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not."

Cloud extended his arm a short ways and ran his fingers through the shiny black feathers. "Oh."

"Does it make you feel better if mine's out too?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah," Cloud said slowly, "I like it." It was true; he _did_ really like it. It was beautiful and huge and, well, perfect. Compared to his own, however, he felt a little inadequate. But it definitely was better than being the only person in the room with a wing.

"I'll leave it out then." Sephiroth manoeuvred his wing so he tickled at the bottoms of Cloud's feet with the tip, causing Cloud to giggle and squirm.

"Stop it!" he laughed. "Hey, Sephiroth, you'll be so proud of me!"

"Why? What'd you do?"

"I had a little mini-panic attack before the big one, but I totally got myself through it! I was freaking out because you were taking so long and I thought maybe you weren't coming back. But I calmed myself down before I got too worked up."

"That's wonderful Cloud. I _am_ proud of you. Sorry I took so long, although I did say I'd be gone an hour."

"I know, I know, it just felt like way longer than that."

"But I got you presents."

Cloud poked his head out from underneath the wing. "Wha'cha get me?"

"Well," Sephiroth said, leaning backwards to reach his fallen bags, "I thought you might appreciate some reading material... obviously newspapers are a bad idea. And I've cut you off, no more romance novels; those give you weird ideas. So I got a couple _normal_ books I thought you might like. And the bookstore also had these." Sephiroth pulled out a deck of cards and a board game. "Thought we could give them a try."

Cloud flipped the game over. "I haven't played Scrabble in ages! Can we play now?"

"'Course we can." Sephiroth stood and set Cloud on his feet. "I bought sandwiches for lunch, so we can eat those while we play."

Cloud went over to the little table in the room and tore the packaging off the game. He set it up while sneaking peeks at Sephiroth out of the corner of his eye. He was still feeling a little jumpy about the newspaper article and wanted Sephiroth to stay where he could see him. And it was nice seeing Sephiroth walking around with his wing out, it made him feel like a bit less of a freak.

When Sephiroth came over to sit down, he quirked an eyebrow at Cloud's setup. "Aren't we supposed to sit on opposite sides of the table?"

"Um, yeah, but..." Cloud shuffled in embarrassment. "I just wanted to sit next to you."

Sephiroth smiled and gave a small sigh, taking the seat on the right side so their wings wouldn't bang. He patted the chair next to him and Cloud grabbed a blanket off the bed and snuggled up next to him. "Are you actually cold, or are you hiding your scars? Because you don't have to do that."

"It's cold wandering around with no shirt on all the time!" Cloud protested.

"All right, then." Sephiroth helped Cloud wrap the blanket around himself and flipped through the rules. "You know how to play?"

"Yep."

"And what do we do about the being able to see each other's tiles?"

"Umm... we pretend we can't?"

"I guess we can do that." Sephiroth kissed the top of Cloud's head and held out the bag of tiles to him. "You go first."

They whiled away the rest of the afternoon playing. The games eventually devolved into lawless battles that involved stealing each other's tiles and making up words.

"Use 'znglapqer' in a sentence, Cloud, or you don't get points," Sephiroth said sternly.

"The man znglapqered loudly to show his appreciation at the end of the performance." Cloud deadpanned. "The 'Znglapqer' is a device created by the great inventor, Horace Horatio, as an artificial hand-clapping device for people with no hands. It was so popular at the turn of the century that the product name was verbed and is, therefore, not a proper noun. Triple word score is mine."

"There were a lot of people with no hands at the turn of the century, were there? And, verbed?"

"Turned into a verb. And no, no, it was popular because really rich ladies who liked going to the opera were too lazy to clap, also they didn't want to hurt themselves by clapping too hard. So znglapqers became a sign of wealth. And with the fifty-point bonus... 176 points!"

Sephiroth marked down Cloud's score while shaking his head sadly. "You should have been a Turk. I think you could out-bullshit Tseng."

There was a knock on the door just as Cloud said, "I could stand to work on my names, though. Come in! Horace Horatio is pretty bad."

"Who's pretty bad?" Aerith asked as she let herself in.

"Sephiroth. At Scrabble." Cloud pulled some more tiles out of the bag and set them on his stand.

Aerith cast an appraising glance at the board. "I think you both might be well past the level of 'pretty bad' at this game."

"We made our own rules," Sephiroth explained.

"Apparently. Anyways, I was wondering what you guys wanted to do for dinner."

"Wow, is it that late already?" Sephiroth pulled out his PHS to look at the time. "What do you feel like, Cloud?"

"Can we just eat whatever we've got here?" Cloud asked quietly. "I... I don't really want you to go out."

"What happened?" Aerith asked.

Sephiroth squeezed Cloud tightly. "I don't have to go anywhere, don't worry." He pointed over at the newspaper. "Page three, but read it somewhere else. It's nothing to worry about, though."

Aerith nodded and went over to pick up the paper. "All right, I'll go grab something to eat. You both need to eat more than junk food."

"Thanks, Aerith," Sephiroth said.

"No problem. You two continue butchering our language while you wait." With that, Aerith slipped out the door and Sephiroth stared at his stack of vowels.

"You could have used that 'u' earlier," Sephiroth said.

"Oh, no. The Zunglapqer is an entirely different invention altogether."

***

Cloud shuffled off to the corner after he finished eating and flipped through the books Sephiroth got him. He sat with his back to the corner, so his wing was mostly hidden in the shadows. He didn't really feel like reading; the painkillers Dr. Cooper kept him on made him drowsy and he was feeling worn out from the day's tension. But they looked like interesting books, at least. Sephiroth had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to pick out something that _Cloud_ would like. Cloud had seen some of the stuff Sephiroth liked to read... dry was a rather nice way of phrasing it.

"Do they look okay?" Sephiroth asked as he came over to sit next to Cloud.

"Yeah, thanks."

"It's looking a lot better. Your wing, that is." Sephiroth reached out and urged Cloud to sit forwards a little bit. "The swelling's gone down a lot."

Cloud sat perfectly still through the inspection. Sephiroth did it every night; Cloud knew that he was just doing what Dr. Cooper told him to and checking for signs of infection, but he wished that Sephiroth didn't have to add his commentary.

"I can see some feathers starting to come in." Sephiroth was touching gently around the bald patches. "I think it's going to look just fine once you're healed up."

"Stop it," Cloud whispered.

"Cloud?"

"Stop trying to make it seem like it's going to be okay." Cloud reached out and ran his hand across Sephiroth's wing. "It's never going to be like this."

Sephiroth was silent for several long moments while Cloud stroked his wing. Finally, he spoke. "You're right. The vet said that it would never look exactly right. There was too much damage. But... I don't think it should matter. What matters is that it's not causing you pain anymore, or at least it won't once it's fully healed. I... I hope that you're able to grow to like yours some day. I like it. And I don't care if it doesn't look perfect. I think they make us special. We've got something that no one else has."

"I—I want to like it," Cloud murmured. "I just wish it was like yours. This is just... disgusting."

Sephiroth held Cloud's face between his hands and looked him in the eyes. "Nothing about you is disgusting, Cloud. Nothing."

Cloud sighed and closed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his forehead on Sephiroth's chest. "I believe that you believe that. You won't mind if I don't go showing it off once I can hide it again, though, will you?"

Cloud heard another sigh from above him. "No, Cloud. I'm not going to ask you to do something you're uncomfortable with. But I don't want you to be ashamed of it."

"I—I'll try."

"Good." Sephiroth bowed his head and kissed the top of Cloud's. "Do you want to play cards or something until you're ready to sleep?"

***

Vincent saw Rocket Town long before he arrived there. The great hulking metallic mass that sat pointed towards the sky was all that remained of Shin-Ra's failed attempt at reaching space. Tseng had told Vincent a little bit of the events leading up to the Space Program being shut down, but it had been of little interest. The Space Program had been but a glimmer on the horizon when Vincent was still with Shin-Ra. And now, apparently, the program was cancelled. Which was what had led Tseng to believe that this Highwind person would join them. Vincent picked up his pace a little; if he got there within the hour, they should be able to fly to Junon and arrive during the night.

When he arrived in the barren-looking town, he wandered around aimlessly, looking for some indication of where the pilot might be. He passed by a playground where some children were playing and flinched when one of them screamed.

"Vampire!"

"Where?"

"There! Walking down the street!"

"Let's follow him!"

Vincent spun on his heel and glared at the children, who screamed and ran off. Smiling slightly, although he was unsure quite why, Vincent turned back to his task. He headed over to the broken rocket and wandered around the fenced-off perimeter. Seeing no one there, he wandered down a row of houses, then another, and another until he saw a small plane in the backyard of one of the houses. Figuring that that was as good a place to look as any, Vincent approached the house and knocked on the door.

A tired looking woman answered. "Yes," she asked, "Can I help you?"

"Does Cid Highwind live here? I need to speak with him."

"Um, yes, he does." The woman eyed Vincent nervously. "He's just in the back. I'll show you the way." She opened the door enough for Vincent to enter and shut it behind him. "Don't worry about your..." her eyes moved downward, "...shoes. Well, just follow me."

The woman led him through the small house to a back door that opened onto the yard. "Cid?" she called. "You have a visitor."

"Who the hell is it?" a gruff voice asked from somewhere around one of the engines of the plane.

"I don't know. He just showed up and said he needed to talk to you." With that, the woman turned and went back inside.

"Dammit, Shera! Why the hell didn't you find out who it was first?" A blond man with grease smeared over his face came around the corner with an unlit cigar in his mouth and stopped short, staring at Vincent. "Who the fuck are you? And what horror movie did you crawl out of?"

"I need you to come with me to Junon as soon as possible. We can take your plane."

Cid's jaw dropped and the cigar fell out, unnoticed. He continued to stare, showing no signs of having understood anything Vincent just said. "Run that by me again?" he finally said.

Vincent wasn't quite sure what he should do. That was as straightforward an explanation he could think of and there wasn't a great deal of time to go into more detail. "Should have given me a script," he muttered to himself. "Look, we're leading a rebellion against Shin-Ra and we need your help. Don't you want to fly?"

"A what against who now?"

"A rebellion against Shin-Ra," Vincent said, more than a little impatiently.

"You want me to risk my goddamned life _and_ my plane for some rebellion led by a guy in a cape? You're dumber than you look."

Vincent just shook his head in frustration and pulled out the PHS Tseng had given him. "I'm not the one leading it," he said as he called Rufus's number.

A mocking voice answered almost immediately. "That you, Valentine? Tseng told me you'd almost certainly run into trouble."

"Yes, he's not listening," Vincent said.

"Let me talk to him."

Vincent wordlessly held out the phone and Cid snatched it out of his hand.

"Highwind here, who the hell are you?" There was a pause and Cid made to hang up the phone, before he paused and brought it back to his ear. "And why the fuck shouldn't I hang up, Shinra dog? No! I don't want to fuckin' listen to you! I've done enough listenin' and Shin-Ra can go suck Odin's hairy fuckin' balls for all I care! You bastards ruined my dreams!"

Vincent sidestepped neatly as Cid kicked a metal pan, sending tools flying everywhere and sighed. Why did they need _this_ person's help? Surely there were other pilots out there. Ones that didn't have so many anger management issues, perhaps. The yelling died down, however, and Cid seemed to be allowing Rufus to say his piece.

"You'll restart the space program?" Cid sounded like a small child that had been promised the present he had been begging for. "How do I know you ain't lying?" There was a long pause and then, "And the Highwind? She'll be mine, right? No matter how this idiocy turns out." Cid kicked aimlessly at the pan again, as he appeared to be thinking it over. "I want all of that in writing by the time we get to Junon. And none of your bullshit legal loopholes, neither. If this goes bad, I'm taking the Highwind and getting the hell out of dodge." Cid snapped the phone shut and glared at Vincent. "You assholes had better not be fucking with me. Go inside and Shera'll make us some tea." He pushed the door open and shoved Vincent through, shouting, "SHERA! TEA!"

Vincent was roughly pushed into the kitchen where the woman who had opened the door was putting a kettle on the stove. "We should probably leave soon—" he started.

"Shut up!" Cid yelled. "Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn tea!"

Vincent sat, refusing to show his dismay while Cid proceeded to yell at Shera to hurry up with the tea and then stormed back outside.

"Bronco needs some tune-ups before we go or we'll end up floating to Junon," he said on his way out, "So stop rushing me. We'll go when I say we'll go. And by they way," Cid yelled from the yard, "If you go poking holes in my plane with those shoes, I swear I'm going to use them for scrap metal!"


	17. Chapter 17

"I believe this should be ready for healing," Dr. Cooper said as he gently felt around the bone. Cloud was once again in Sephiroth's lap, clinging to him as the doctor did his check. Sephiroth was impressed with how calm Cloud was, however; the shaking was barely even noticeable. "Miss Aerith, if you want to do the honours."

"Of course." Aerith stepped forward and laid her hands over the injured area. "Ready, Cloud?" Cloud gave a short nod and Aerith concentrated as a green light spread out over Cloud's wing. She watched it receding with a smile and stepped back. "There you go, should be all better now."

"So, I can put it away?" Cloud's voice was a little muffled, but the sentiment came through clear enough.

"Not just yet, Cloud," Dr. Cooper said, with a nervous glance at Sephiroth. "I want to make sure that everything has healed as it should. If you could try stretching it out as far as you can."

Cloud did so, and Sephiroth noticed with a frown that it didn't straighten as far as his could. And when he folded it up, it looked a little awkward and didn't quite bend as far as it maybe should have. Dr. Cooper noticed his frown and returned it with a glare of his own; maybe the man had some backbone after all.

"That's good, Cloud. You've lost some range of motion, but that's expected with such a severe injury. Try flapping it a couple of times and let me know it there's any pain."

Cloud gave a few half-hearted flaps. "It's fine. Can I put it away _now_?"

"Cloud," Sephiroth said quietly, "He's just trying to help you."

"I don't want help; I'm sick of being gawked at," Cloud whined and Sephiroth couldn't help but sympathize with him.

"I know, just a little bit longer."

The doctor carefully moved the wing, testing every way it was supposed to be able to move. "If you're willing, Cloud, I'd like you to do some stretches every day. That will help restore some of you motion and will also help with any pain you might be feeling."

"I'm fine," Cloud muttered. Sephiroth could feel a tiny bit of dampness on his shirt and gave Cloud a squeeze.

"He's been in physiotherapy before for another injury; I'm sure we can work out some stretches for him to do," Sephiroth said. "Thanks for all your help, doctor."

Dr. Cooper nodded, understanding that Sephiroth was kicking him out. "Well, good luck then." Aerith saw him out and shut the door quietly behind her.

"He's gone, Cloud," Sephiroth said quietly. "You can put it away if you want now."

Cloud sniffled and pushed himself up, wiping his eyes. "Sorry, I just—"

"I understand, you don't need to explain."

With a short nod, Cloud gave a half-smile and got up off the bed, heading over to look in the mirror. "I guess it doesn't look _that_ bad now," he said to himself. He carefully folded the wing up and shut his eyes in concentration until it disappeared into nothingness. "That looks a lot better, though."

Sephiroth stood and walked over to Cloud, bringing out his own wing as he did so. He wrapped both it and his arms around Cloud and squeezed him tightly. "I love you. And anytime you want to bring it out, do it. I like seeing it, so don't be ashamed. If you want to do some stretches, like Dr. Cooper said, I'll help you with them."

Cloud turned around in Sephiroth's arms and gave him a strong hug back. "Thank you. I don't know if I'll ever want to, but if I do, it would be nice if you'd help." They remained standing there for quite some time until Cloud finally spoke again. "Sephiroth?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Do you think that maybe, since I'm not quite so broken anymore, do you think we could start training again? I have a feeling that we've got a lot of battles coming up... I don't want to hold you back."

Sephiroth frowned; he understood what Cloud meant, but he didn't like Cloud thinking that he would ever hold him back, even if it was a real possibility. That was his problem to deal with, not Cloud's. Still, it would be the smart thing to do. "Sure, that's probably a good idea. We've been getting out of shape sitting around here. How about we go for a walk and see if we can find a good place away from the town?"

Cloud laughed, "You mean I can finally leave this damn room? Where are my boots?"

***

An abandoned warehouse on the edge of Kalm provided an ideal place away from prying eyes for them to train. Cloud's skill with materia had vastly improved; he could cast high-level spells with ease and had very few problems targeting. Sword-work was another matter, however. Cloud had the strength and stamina now, but skill-wise, he was still a cadet with a bit of extra training. The instincts that warriors spend years developing just weren't there, which was entirely understandable, if frustrating.

"Concentrate, Cloud. Pick your sword up and try it again."

Cloud glared at him angrily as he got up, brushed himself off, and went to pick his sword up from where it had landed after Sephiroth disarmed him. He understood how hard this was for Cloud, he really did, and he knew that he was pissing him off by pushing him so hard. But it was necessary if Cloud was going to be able to survive without Sephiroth watching over him constantly.

"You know, sometimes a guy just want to breathe some dirt for a while and revel in his humiliation."

"You're doing well, Cloud. Really well. And you're making good progress. We've only been practicing for a few days and you've already improved so much. Let's try again. Remember to focus on _me_ , not the sword."

Cloud assumed his fighting stance. "Easier said than done," he said, with a wary glance at the tip of Masamune.

"I know, just try. Pay attention to my torso, that's where you can see the moves coming. You don't need to see the blade to know what it's doing."

Cloud nodded and shifted his weight, eyes focused on Sephiroth's chest. "Okay."

Cloud held out for almost two minutes that time before Sephiroth outmanoeuvred him and flicked his sword away, touching the point of Masamune to his chest.

"Better," Sephiroth said, lowering his weapon. "You only looked away from me a couple times towards the end there. Let's try it again."

"Can't we take a break?" Cloud asked. "I'm tired."

"Five more times and then we'll go get Aerith and get some dinner. Take a drink of water if you need it." Gaia, if that glare was anything to go by, Cloud was going to _hate_ him by the end of this. He tried to tell himself that it was worth it; Cloud _needed_ to learn this if he was going to survive. Nearly losing Cloud once was bad enough; Sephiroth wasn't going to go through that again, not if he could have any say in the matter.

Cloud wasn't talking to him by the time Sephiroth declared them done for the day and remained in a bad mood through the entirety of dinner. Aerith had attempted to make conversation, but gave it up as a lost cause and excused herself from the table as quickly as she could, saying she had a letter to finish.

"You did really well today," Sephiroth said, as Cloud poked moodily at the remains of his potatoes. "I know I've been pushing you to your limits and it sucks. But I also know that you _can_ do this." Cloud continued to ignore him, so Sephiroth got up from the table with a sigh and went to go read a book. He tried to tell himself that it was just a tantrum; he'd be forgiven. Cloud was sore and tired and probably more than a little frustrated. He'd been through so much and now Sephiroth was putting him through even more. It wasn't fair.

Sephiroth heaved another sigh and tossed his book aside. "Cloud, do you want me to run a bath for you? It'll help with your sore muscles."

There were a few moments of apprehensive silence before Cloud answered. "That... that would be nice."

A smile crept across Sephiroth's face; it wasn't totally unfixable after all. "I'll call you when it's ready."

Cloud spent a good hour soaking before he finally emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his pyjamas. "Thanks," he said quietly, "That felt nice."

"No problem. Come sit down." Sephiroth patted the spot next to him on the bed. "I got a message from Zack while you were in there. He says they've made it into Midgar and made contact with people at ShinRa. Word's circulating among the First Classes and Kunsel's working on the lower ranks. They've also apparently found some other people who are willing to help. He didn't say much about that, except that 'the chick has some serious skills'. So I guess we'll see what comes of that. But it's good news, at least."

"Yeah, that is good." Cloud settled down next to him and ran his fingers through Sephiroth's hair. "Did you tell Aerith?"

"He said that he had sent a message to Aerith first, so there's no need." Sephiroth shifted forwards a little at Cloud's urging, giving him better access to his hair.

"Do you really think I'm getting better?"

"Yeah, I do. You've been making good progress. I wouldn't say that if I didn't think it was true." There was a skeptical snort and Sephiroth turned around and quirked his eyebrow at Cloud. "I like you when you're _alive_ , Cloud. I'm not going to risk that just to make you feel better."

Cloud sighed and shooed Sephiroth's face away so he could keep touching his hair. He finger-combed it while Sephiroth sat there patiently. Cloud did that with his wing sometimes, just touching the feathers and running his fingers through them. He kept telling himself that Cloud only did it to make himself feel more comfortable with the idea of having a wing, so he always had to try to not show how turned on he would get from it. But this, Sephiroth bit back a moan as Cloud tugged gently, Cloud knew that he had a thing for having his hair played with; he had to be doing it on purpose.

"Are you trying to turn me on Cloud?" Sephiroth asked.

"Maybe a little." Cloud buried his face in Sephiroth's shoulder blades. "Is it working?"

Sephiroth gave a snort. "Yeah, it's working. Very well. C'mere." Sephiroth dragged Cloud out from behind him and onto his lap. "Do you feel up to doing anything tonight? Or are you just teasing?"

"I don't want to tease." Cloud gave him a smile that quickly faded into uncertainty. "Do you... do you still want me?"

Sephiroth was momentarily flabbergasted. "Of _course_ I still want you, Cloud. What would make you think that I don't?"

"I just... it's hard to believe it. I don't think you're lying, but... I feel so disgusting. I don't understand how you can—I mean, you can make pictures out of the scars on my chest!"

"Cloud... Cloud, I want you to listen to me, okay? I love you. I'm angry with Hojo for giving you those scars. I hate him for being so cruel and for hurting you. I am _not_ disgusted or turned off by them. You're still you, Cloud. And I still think you're sexy as hell."

A tentative smile crossed Cloud's face. "Really?"

"Really. And I guarantee, when you're sitting on my lap like this, I am _not_ thinking about Hojo."

Cloud giggled. "That'd be kind of gross, huh?"

"Eugh, now I have nasty mental images. I think you're obligated to help get rid of them, Cloud. Kisses! Stat!"

Cloud laughed and pushed himself up on his knees so he could reach Sephiroth's face to plant kisses all over it. He smothered Sephiroth's face in kisses, leaving no part untouched, and then slowed as he returned to kiss his lips again. Sephiroth wrapped his arm around Cloud's waist and pulled him a bit closer, looking up so he could meet Cloud's lips. A hesitant tongue darted out and briefly tasted Sephiroth's lower lip before Cloud pulled back again, looking shy.

"Better?" he asked, blushing.

"Mmm... Surely I could get a few more kisses than that," Sephiroth said with a smirk, running his fingers up and down Cloud's spine.

Cloud gave a small shudder and smiled shyly. "I guess I could try for a few more." Cloud kissed him more slowly this time, pressing his lips gently to Sephiroth's several times before deepening the kiss. When his tongue darted out again, Sephiroth parted his lips and sucked briefly on Cloud's tongue before it was pulled back. Cloud shuffled forward a little bit on his knees, pressing his groin into Sephiroth's abs and Sephiroth held him close.

"Still need more kisses," Sephiroth mumbled, reaching up to capture Cloud's lips again. He could feel Cloud smiling and he tilted Cloud's face down to give him a peck on the tip of his nose before returning to his mouth. He ran his tongue along Cloud's lower lip and sucked it between his teeth, nibbling gently on it. Cloud looked a bit startled when Sephiroth suddenly pulled back, but smiled again when Sephiroth pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side.

Cloud reached out cautiously to touch Sephiroth's bare chest, lightly running his fingers over the contours of his muscles and grinning shyly.

"You're acting like you've never seen me without a shirt on before."

"It's been a while," Cloud said simply. "At least, it's been a while since it wasn't just you without a shirt on."

"Is it more than that this time?" Sephiroth asked, lying back on the bed and rubbing his hands over Cloud's thighs.

"Y—yes." Cloud gulped and shifted forward, then rested his weight down on Sephiroth's hips, putting pressure on his growing erection.

Sephiroth let out a small groan and put his hands on Cloud's hips, encouraging him to roll them a little. Cloud continued on his own, and reached out to touch Sephiroth's chest again, so Sephiroth moved his hands to the hem of Cloud's shirt and slowly pushed it upward. Cloud stilled and squirmed back, away from him.

"Can—can we turn out the lights?" Cloud asked with an edge of panic to his voice.

"Sure, Cloud. Not a problem." Sephiroth sat up and gave Cloud a quick kiss and a hug, then rolled him off of his lap. He got up and shut off the lights, then went back to the bed. He frowned when he saw that Cloud was still looking tense. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly. "We don't have to do this."

"No, it's just—" Cloud sighed and laughed bitterly. "Being able to see in the dark sucks sometimes. This'd be a lot easier if you couldn't see me so well. Or if I couldn't see me. Or something."

Sephiroth reached out and ran his fingers through Cloud's hair. "So, do you want me to be blindfolded, or you? Because we can do that if it would make you feel more comfortable."

Cloud looked up, confusion painted over his face.

"Both of us might not work so well. And it could be a little bit tricky if I'm the one blindfolded, unless you're willing to take control of things, but I can handle a little bit tricky."

Cloud continued to stare in confusion for a moment before he spoke. "You—you'd do that for me?"

"Didn't I tell you all that time ago that we'd do whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable?" Sephiroth asked. "Cloud, I love you, and I want to see you, but if you'd rather I didn't right now, I'm perfectly willing to wear a blindfold."

"You want to see me..." Cloud said quietly. "You don't mind." They were more statements to himself, so Sephiroth stayed quiet and just nodded in agreement. "I think... I think that it's more me. Seeing the scars... it makes me uncomfortable. I can't help but look at them and think, 'Oh, that's the one from when H—Hojo did this or that.' You know?"

"I know. That would definitely be a turn-off."

"If—if I wore a blindfold, you'd talk to me and stuff, right? So I'd know where you are?"

"Absolutely. I'll make sure you know what's going on." Sephiroth waited patiently while Cloud mulled it over, just casually running his fingers across Cloud's arm.

"I'd like to try it," Cloud said finally. "But I want to be able to change my mind."

"Of course. And if you find yourself getting nervous, you can always lift it up to take a peek. This is just to make you feel comfortable, not some bondage game; you can do whatever you want with it." Sephiroth glanced around for something they could use as a blindfold; one of the hand towels would be about the right length if he folded it diagonally. "I'll be back in two seconds, Cloud."

He grabbed one towel for the blindfold and the other one for clean-up and headed back to the bed. Cloud was sitting with his eyes closed, breathing deeply. He smiled and opened his eyes when he felt Sephiroth sit back down. "Find something?"

"Little towel. Should be long enough, but not too thick." Sephiroth leaned over and gently kissed Cloud. Cloud pulled him closer and parted his lips as Sephiroth pressed his tongue in. The kiss turned from gentle to passionate and almost desperate in a heartbeat, with Sephiroth trying to taste as much of Cloud as he could and Cloud trying to encourage him further. Sephiroth's erection quickly returned and when Cloud fell backwards, taking Sephiroth with him, he could feel Cloud's pressing up against his thigh.

Sephiroth pulled his head back a short distance and Cloud gasped for air. "Forget to breathe?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes! Sometimes you forget about silly things like that."

Sephiroth propped himself up on one hand and traced his fingers over Cloud's shirt with the other. He teased one nipple into hardness before moving on to the other and giving it the same treatment. "Cloud, I want you to close your eyes and I'm going to take your shirt off. Then I'll tie the towel over your eyes." Cloud gave a short nod and Sephiroth reached for the towel and folded into a wide strip that would comfortably block Cloud's vision. He helped Cloud sit up, kissing him a few more times in the process. "Okay, close your eyes."

Cloud obediently squeezed them shut and raised his arms up above his head as Sephiroth pulled his shirt off. He was tempted to plant a few kisses on the pale skin before doing anything else, but resisted. "You're beautiful, Cloud," he whispered instead, as he picked up the blindfold. He laid it gently across Cloud's eyes and tied it, taking care not to get any hair caught in the knot. "Is that too tight?"

"No... It feels a bit like it might fall off."

"I'll make it a bit tighter, but I want you to be able to pull it off easily." Sephiroth paused a moment to suck on Cloud's earlobe for a few seconds, then retied the knot. "Better?"

"Yeah, that feels okay," Cloud sounded a little nervous and Sephiroth hugged him tightly before kissing him deeply again.

"Good. Just relax for me now." Sephiroth carefully pushed Cloud back, supporting his weight as he lay back down. "Scoot up a little ways on the bed for me, there's good." He tucked a pillow under Cloud's head and stretched out beside him, propped up on his elbow. Sephiroth spent a little while kissing Cloud some more and felt pleased when he still responded eagerly.

When Cloud was looking completely relaxed, Sephiroth moved away from his lips and began kissing and licking a slow trail down his neck. He trailed his fingers over Cloud's chest, pausing to play with a nipple. Steadily moving downward, Sephiroth felt far more aware than he had previously of where exactly his mouth was. He made an effort to not avoid the scars, but he didn't linger on them either, wanting Cloud to feel like it was just smooth skin. He hesitated only once; he wanted to lick down the centre of Cloud's chest, but one of the largest scars was there. It looked like he had been vivisected... several times... there wouldn't be a lot of sensation there anymore.

"Can you feel this, Cloud?" he asked, running his finger over the scar.

Cloud squirmed and made a face. "Sort of, it's kind of weird, though. I don't like it."

"Okay." Sephiroth stopped immediately and came up with a different plan. He lowered his mouth to a nipple, licking a circle around the sensitive skin before capturing the nub gently between his lips, causing Cloud to moan. Sephiroth snuck a glance upward and smiled when he saw that the displeased look was gone from Cloud's face. He turned himself around a little so he was sitting next to Cloud's head, and then dragged his tongue in a long line from Cloud's nipple to the bottom of his ribs, stopping in the centre, just below where the scar stopped.

Cloud shifted, and Sephiroth felt a hand feeling around, patting its way up his thigh, to his hip and over to his back. Cloud twined his fingers through Sephiroth's hair and ran them lightly over his spine. Sephiroth hummed in pleasure against the soft skin of Cloud's stomach and kissed him sloppily before licking another trail down to his belly button. He dipped his tongue in and Cloud squirmed again, tightening his hand in Sephiroth's hair.

Before Sephiroth could ask, Cloud managed to hiss, "Feels good."

"Yeah?" he mumbled in between swirling his tongue around. "You like that?"

"Uh-huh." Cloud moved his hand down, tracing his fingers along the hem of Sephiroth's pants before giving his ass a squeeze.

Sephiroth continued covering Cloud's stomach in sloppy kisses and licks while Cloud fondled his ass and thighs. Lightly tickling his fingers down Cloud's side, he moved a bit lower and touched along the waistband of Cloud's pants. He felt Cloud move his hand away and looked back to see Cloud pushing up the blindfold a tiny ways. Just enough to peek. "Doing okay?" he asked.

Cloud nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, I just needed to see you for a second." He pushed the towel back to where it had been and Sephiroth rubbed his hand over Cloud's thighs.

"Can I take these off for you?"

"Only if you take yours off too," Cloud said, with a smirk on his face. "I don't know if I could get yours off with this thing on."

"All right," Sephiroth said as he pushed himself off the bed and began unbuttoning his pants. "But no peeking. This is an imaginary strip tease."

"Hey! I want to see you strip!" Cloud said, laughing.

"Nope. You've got to imagine me popping the buttons. One. At. A. Time. I'm not wearing any underwear and you can see me straining against the leather." Sephiroth watched Cloud's reactions carefully as he teased him; he wasn't touching Cloud at the moment, and he didn't want to go too far and freak him out. Cloud seemed to be enjoying it, however; he wasn't laughing anymore, but he was still smiling and he appeared to be fighting the urge not to peek.

"Can you imagine it, Cloud?"

"Y—yeah, I can."

"What can you see?" Sephiroth purred, trying to coax Cloud into participating.

"I—I—I can't _say_ that!" Cloud was blushing, but that beautiful smile was still there.

"Sure you can, just tell me what you're imagining. It's just me, Cloud. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Sephiroth reached out and squeezed Cloud's hand. "What can you see?" he repeated.

"I—I can see—I can see those little lines just above your hips. I can see the start of them just above your waistband and when you undo one more button..."

"Like this?" Sephiroth popped the third button on his pants and tried to get it to make a noise in the process.

"Like that. I can see a bit more. Those lines, they're—they're fucking toned and sexy, Sephiroth. I want to touch them—to lick them—but you're stripping and I don't want to stop you. They point right to..." Cloud moaned and covered his face with his hands. "I can't do this, Sephiroth."

"You're doing great, Cloud." Sephiroth couldn't help but glance down to see the lines Cloud was talking about; he had never really noticed them before, but they did seem to point straight to more interesting areas. "So if I pop the last button, you'll be able to see the base of my cock, Cloud. Do you want that?"

Cloud nodded, still covering his face, but Sephiroth heard him giggle embarrassedly.

"All right. It's undone, Cloud. Gaia, I want to take it out. I want you to see it. I'm so hard, Cloud." Sephiroth felt like an idiot; this was like the cheesiest phone sex ever, but Cloud was keeping calm and, he had to admit, it was building up the anticipation wonderfully. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, he told himself the same thing he had told Cloud. It was just the two of them.

"You don't take it out yet," Cloud said suddenly. "You kind of inch the sides down, one at a time, so I can see more and more."

Sephiroth followed Cloud's instructions and hooked his thumbs into the sides of his pants and began slowly inching them down. Cloud was squirming on the bed now, obviously trying to get some friction on his erection, but apparently not wanting to touch himself either. "You like being teased, Cloud?"

"Ma—maybe?" Cloud said cautiously.

"Hmm," Sephiroth purred, making a mental note of that little tidbit, "I think I like teasing you. I think I'm going to turn around so all you can see is my ass while I pull my pants off."

"No!" Cloud protested. "I want to see you!"

"I dunno..." Sephiroth paused mid-turn.

"Your hair."

"My hair?"

"It's so low when it's hanging in front of your shoulders, I can barely see anything. It's frustrating," Cloud said suggestively.

He liked that idea. A lot. Sephiroth turned back around, kind of wishing that Cloud was _actually_ watching this, and dragged his hair over his shoulders, letting it form a curtain in front of him. "It's so thick, Cloud, you can hardly see a thing. All you can see is the bits of black moving slowly down." Sephiroth resumed slowly pushing his pants down. He liked this a lot better than facing the other way. This way he could watch Cloud writhing in frustration; Cloud was practically panting now. The urge to stop dragging this out was growing stronger; he wanted to touch and be touched.

"I'm pushing them past my ass now, Cloud. The leather... Gaia, it feels so good." Sephiroth groaned loudly as his erection swung free and poked out through his hair. How the hell was he supposed to put that in words? He couldn't quite bring himself to do it, however, and just shoved the pants off the rest of the way and crawled back onto the bed. "How're you doing, babe?" he asked, leaning down to kiss Cloud.

"I'm good. I'd really like my pants off, though." Cloud fumbled around, trying to touch as much of Sephiroth as he could.

"I think I can help you with those pesky things," Sephiroth purred and licked at the shell of Cloud's ear. He walked his fingers down Cloud's chest and stomach and reached down to cup his erection. Cloud let out a soft cry and rocked his hips up into Sephiroth's hand, begging to be touched more.

"Take them off," Cloud whined, wiggling his way back into Sephiroth's lap. Sephiroth briefly wondered why Cloud didn't just do it himself if he was so desperate; he seemed to be clinging to Sephiroth's arms in an attempt to stop himself from doing just that. Maybe Cloud just wanted to let Sephiroth take care of him tonight, to submit...

Sephiroth undid the button and slowly dragged the fly down while Cloud moaned against his chest. "You're pretty into things tonight, hey," Sephiroth prodded gently, wondering what was up. He didn't mind this in the least, but he wanted to make sure that Cloud was really okay.

"Everything—It's weird, I can't see, but..." Cloud seemed to calm down a little as he tried to think of a reply.

"Your other senses have kicked it up a notch?" Sephiroth pushed Cloud's pants and underwear over his hips at the same time.

"Yeah, I think they must have. And I missed you, Sephiroth. I missed having you touch me."

"I missed you too." Sephiroth slid Cloud off of him and tugged his pants off the rest of the way before lying down next to him and kissing him softly. "I missed you so much. We have a lot of lost time to make up for."

Sephiroth traced his hand over Cloud's belly and down his thighs, watching as Cloud's muscles jerked and his cock twitched. He scratched gently at the sensitive skin of Cloud's inner thighs before cupping his balls and rolling them over his fingers. Cloud rocked his hips up into the touch and clutched Sephiroth's hair, moaning. Cloud yanked on it, causing the sensation to shoot straight to his groin, when Sephiroth finally touched Cloud's erection. He lowered his mouth to one of Cloud's nipples while he slowly, teasingly stroked him.

"Se—Sephiroth."

"Hmm?" Sephiroth paused with a nipple between his teeth and looked up at Cloud's face. Cloud was peeking again, but he gave Sephiroth a quick smile and nodded before pulling the blindfold back down. Cloud seemed like he was on the verge of coming already, so Sephiroth lay off stroking him for a moment and Cloud whined at the loss of contact. "Can I get the lube?" he asked.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, that would be good." Cloud sounded a little bit nervous, but they could deal with that.

The lube was still in his pack; there hadn't been a need for it since they had been in Nibelheim the first time and his stupid pack was across the room. "Good planning..." he grumbled. "Cloud, I'm just getting up to get it. I'm not going anywhere." Sephiroth gave Cloud's hand a squeeze and waited for him to nod before he pushed himself off the bed. Cloud lay on the bed and Sephiroth could see him beginning to tremble as he rushed back with the bag. "I'm still here, Cloud. You're fine."

Cloud grabbed for him as soon as Sephiroth jumped back on the bed. He was touching all over Sephiroth's face and feeling his hair. "It's me, Cloud. It's me. Sorry, I should have planned that better."

"No, it's fine," Cloud said with relief, pushing his blindfold up once more. "I'm fine. It was no big deal. Just across the room." He pulled the towel back down and took a few calming breaths. "Really, I'm fine. Where's that lube?"

"Just let me find it," Sephiroth said, rummaging through the pack. He finally closed his hand around the tube and pulled it out from the very bottom, tossing the pack on the floor. "Got it. You sure you're okay?" Cloud had sat up and wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's torso while he had been searching.

"Yeah. I dunno why that felt different than when you weren't touching me before. It was just a bit scary, but I'm okay now."

"All right, come on, lie back down for me." Sephiroth urged Cloud to lie back and leaned down to kiss him again. When Cloud seemed to have calmed down completely, Sephiroth sat back. "Spread your legs for me, precious."

Cloud giggled, probably at the name, but spread his legs obligingly, bending his knees so Sephiroth had a perfect view.

"You. Are. Beautiful." Sephiroth kissed the insides of Cloud's knees with each word. He grabbed a pillow and levered Cloud's hips up, placing it underneath. "So beautiful," he said, trailing a finger across Cloud's ass.

"Stop staring at me," Cloud half-giggled the words, but he also sounded like he may have meant it.

"Sorry, Cloud. I won't stare." It was really hard not to, though. Cloud looked so needy and ready to be taken... Sephiroth popped the cap on the lube and squeezed out a bit onto his finger, then breathed on it a few times to warm it up. He traced a slick trail over Cloud's sac and down between his cheeks, spreading the lubricant around his entrance without penetrating him just yet.

Cloud let out a soft whine, pushing himself towards Sephiroth's finger. Teasing him was proving to be a lot of fun, but when Cloud reached down with both hands to spread himself even further, Sephiroth gave it up. He doled out some more lube and slid one finger in, as slowly as he could. Cloud moaned needily and bucked his hips, letting go of his ass to reach out and touch Sephiroth. He felt his way up Sephiroth's bent legs before his hand found what he had been looking for. Cloud explored carefully, just feeling around with light, teasing touches. Sephiroth let out a whine of his own and tried to concentrate on stretching Cloud.

Sephiroth took his time, despite his impatience and the complete absence of help on Cloud's part. He was nearly shaking with desire by the time he deemed Cloud ready for him. The feather-light touches were promising so much and delivering so little; he needed more than that.

"Feel ready for more, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked while thrusting gently into him with three fingers.

"Yeah, I'm good." Cloud reached up and ran his hand along Sephiroth's arm and gave it a squeeze.

Sephiroth smiled softly at Cloud before remembering that Cloud couldn't see him. He kissed both of Cloud's knees and withdrew his fingers, grabbing the lube again to slick himself up. "I love you, Cloud," Sephiroth said softly as he settled between Clouds legs and lifted them onto his hips.

"I love you too." Cloud was feeling around cautiously in the direction of Sephiroth's face, probably not wanting to accidentally hit him, so he caught Cloud's hand and laid it on the side of his cheek.

"I'm right here, precious," he said, holding Cloud's hand there and enjoying the feeling of Cloud caressing him. He reached down and positioned himself, then brought Cloud's hand to his lips, brushing his lips over his knuckles. "Ready?"

Cloud gave a short nod and took a deep breath as Sephiroth slid in. He moved slowly, but steadily, giving Cloud's clenching muscles time to relax and adjust until he was fully seated in Cloud's body.

It felt so good to be connected to Cloud like this again. It had been so long. He had missed so much the tiny sounds of pleasure Cloud would make, even when he wasn't moving, and the way it felt being encased in Cloud's hot body.

Time seemed to move strangely and Sephiroth lost himself in the sensations of their lovemaking. Cloud's cries and moans filling his ears and the scent and taste of sweat-slicked skin as they rocked together were overwhelming. It was both too much pleasure and not enough; Sephiroth wished for it to go on for eternity.

"Wing," Cloud gasped against his lips. "Will you? I want... touch."

"You want my wing out?" Sephiroth slowed his thrusts and let Cloud catch his breath. He wanted to be sure before he actually did it.

"Um, do... do you think it's weird?" A faint blush—more than just the redness from exertion that was already there—crept across Cloud's cheeks.

"It's not weird." Sephiroth said firmly, wishing he could look Cloud in the eyes when he said that. "I just wanted to make sure." With that, he shut his eyes and concentrated on the wing, still gently rocking against Cloud. Sephiroth let out a gasp as the wing burst into existence; it was a strange sensation under normal circumstances, but in the middle of sex, it was even stranger. Not bad by any means, however, and he took hold of Cloud's hand, lifting it up to touch the powerful appendage.

Cloud touched cautiously at first, growing bolder as Sephiroth encouraged him with shudders and moans. Unlike his hair, he didn't like the feathers being pulled on, but having Cloud run his fingers through them and stroke the area where it connected to his back made him have to pause more than once, fighting the urge to come. He wasn't ready for this to be over yet.

When at last, he couldn't hold out any longer, Sephiroth stroked Cloud hard and fast until he cried out, muscles clenching tightly as he spilled his release over Sephiroth's hand. Sephiroth thrust hard into Cloud as he finally let the pleasure overwhelm him. Cloud continued to buck his hips and squeeze, and Sephiroth pounded into him until he began to soften. Even then, he simply slowed down and rolled his hips gently, not wanting it to end.

Cloud had pushed his blindfold off at some point; Sephiroth noticed when Cloud pulled him down for a slow kiss. Reluctantly, Sephiroth pulled out and let Cloud straighten his legs out, settling comfortably beside him, with one leg draped over Cloud's thigh. He draped his wing over Cloud's chest and folded it up a little so it was almost like it was hugging him.

"How're you doing?" he asked despite being able to make a good guess at the answer.

"Mmm... haven't been this good in a very long time, I think. How 'bout you?" Cloud nuzzled his face into Sephiroth's neck, planting tiny kisses on it.

"I'm perfect," was all Sephiroth could come up with.

"Sephiroth?"

"Yeah?"

"I—I really liked it when you called me 'precious'." Cloud stumbled over the words, trying to get them out as fast as possible.

"Did you? I wondered about that; if you'd think it was silly. You _are_ precious to me."

"I don't think it's silly." Cloud was blushing furiously. "I—I like being... precious."

"Well all right then, precious. Thank you for telling me." Sephiroth squeezed Cloud tightly and pulled the blankets up over them, keeping his wing snug against Cloud's body. His precious Cloud. There wasn't enough time in the world to make up for the months they had missed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official version of what happened to this fic involves ninjas and a fainting goat, and you know how they are, so I dare not say more.

Aerith slowly pulled her boots on and glanced reluctantly at her staff that was leaning the corner by the window. She had put this off long enough; the feeling of dread was only increasing with each day she waited. It would be a lot easier if she had been able to hear the planet properly, like her mother had. Ifalna would have known what to do... what the planet was trying to say... Aerith just had a general direction. It would have to do.

Pushing herself off the bed, she steeled herself and went to knock on Sephiroth and Cloud's door.

"Just a sec," Sephiroth called. Aerith heard a muttered, "Ah, fuck it," moments before the door was opened. "Oh, hey, Aerith. Sorry, we slept in a bit this morning. Cloud should be done in the shower pretty quick, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes. Come in."

Aerith glanced around the room, worried. The evidence was still all over the place. "You two had sex, didn't you?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Yes, we didn't really get around to cleaning up, sorry."

"Sephiroth..."

Sephiroth shot her a look that could kill. "What?"

"Was he really ready? Are you sure?" Seeing Sephiroth's furious look, she quickly added, "Look, I know you would never purposefully hurt him, I'm just a bit worried that maybe it was a bit too soon. He's still—"

"We're both grown men, Aerith," Sephiroth spat out. "We don't need a babysitter to tell us when we can fuck. Do you really think that I don't know enough to make sure it's what he wants?"

The bathroom door opened while Sephiroth was talking and Cloud came out in a waft of steam. "G'morning, Aerith. I take it she knows?"

Aerith opened her mouth to speak, but Sephiroth cut her off. "Yes, she does."

"And she's worried?"

"Yes, she is."

Cloud let out a heavy sigh as he flopped down on the ottoman, rubbing his hair dry. "What Sephiroth said. I appreciate the concern, but it's not necessary. I know how to say 'no'."

"I _know_ that, Cloud. I _know_ that you would say 'no' if you felt you weren't ready, and that Sephiroth would listen. That's not why I'm worried," Aerith said, feeling a little frustrated that they were just brushing her off. "But what if you had had a panic attack in the middle of things? What if Jenova had attacked you? Did you guys plan for that at all?"

"We would have handled it like we always do," Sephiroth said grumpily. "We don't need a contingency plan for everything."

Cloud giggled into his hand. "We could, though, if it would make you happy. We can make a list. Number one: if Cloud starts trying to kill Sephiroth while they're fu—"

"It's not funny, Cloud," Aerith snapped.

"Well, what sort of plan were we supposed to make? I mean, I think we both knew that if something happened, the sex would stop and the problem would be dealt with."

"Fine, I guess whatever works for you. Look, the reason I came by was to tell you that I have to go."

"What? Aerith, I was just teasing, come on." Cloud dropped his towel, looking concerned.

"What's going on?" Sephiroth asked.

"I'm not sure, exactly, but the planet has been trying to tell me something for the past few days. I know that I need to go south, and that it's urgent."

"All right." Sephiroth stood and glanced around the room with a purpose. "Give us half-an-hour or so to get our things packed and we'll be ready to go."

Aerith's jaw dropped. "Just like that?"

"Of course, just like that," Cloud said quietly. "You said it's urgent."

"That's sweet of you guys, but you can't come with me."

"You expect us to let you go off in some random direction alone?" Sephiroth raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes. I do. You know I can take care of myself, and you guys need to keep up your training. You know you've got to get in as much as you can before we go wherever we're going, Sephiroth. You can't deny that."

"Zack will kill me."

"Not if I kill him first for taking so long to send me a bloody message," Aerith said with a pained smile. She was still furious about that. "I'll deal with Zack."

Sephiroth hovered indecisively, looking back and forth between Cloud and Aerith. She could have giggled at the sight of Shin-Ra's top general at a loss over what to do.

"You can't be in two places at once," she said gently. "Cloud needs you here. I'll keep in touch with you and let you know how it's going. I promise."

"Don't do anything stupid," Sephiroth finally said. "Don't fight anything unless there's no other way, don't engage the clones, don't use your real name, just... don't get hurt."

"I won't, I promise." Aerith breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't quite understand why she wanted to go alone; it was just a sort of gut feeling that this was something that wasn't meant for humans.

***

Cloud and Sephiroth saw her off, with Cloud shouting a few cautionary words and wishing her luck as she clucked at Flora. She knew she had to go south, which meant crossing the marshes. Sephiroth had assured her that chocobos were faster than the Zoloms that lived there and she certainly hoped he was right. After seeing him fight them when they crossed the marshes the first time, she was certain she wouldn't be able to take one on alone.

"All right, Flora," she said, patting the chocobo's neck when they reached the area where the ground started getting soft beneath the bird's feet, "Are you ready to sprint?"

Flora made a warking sound and rattled the reins, ready to go. Aerith clucked once, and they were off like a shot; it barely felt like they were even touching the ground as Flora dashed over it. She saw a giant serpent's head rearing up in the distance and trembled. They could feel the vibrations and would be coming soon.

"Come on, Flora, you can do this." Aerith could feel the chocobo straining to keep up her pace and worried that they wouldn't be able to make the entire distance, but there was nowhere safe to stop in the marsh. Aerith chanced a glance behind them and saw a dark shadow following behind them. "Good girl, Flora, keep going," she encouraged her, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. The shadow was keeping pace with them, but it wasn't gaining on them at all. She faced forward again and ducked down, leaning in close to Flora's neck, hoping for a bit of extra speed. They were so close, just a little bit further.

The wind was forcing tears from Aerith's eyes, but she squinted and looked straight ahead anyways, trying to see how close they were. That was when she saw it. Coming straight at them was a second shadow, and they were headed directly for it. Aerith bit back a scream and grabbed hold of her staff. If she had to fight, she would fight and she would win. There was no other choice.

Seconds before Aerith was sure the serpent was about to strike, however, Flora made a gravity-defying leap into the air and soared over the snapping jaws of the Zolom. Aerith clung to her neck as they landed hard on firmer ground and made a final dash towards the safety of the mine entrance. She couldn't help but glance behind when Flora finally came to a stop and saw the circling shadows at the edge of the marsh, searching for their lost meal.

The mines were dark and damp and full of monsters, just like she remembered. It never took more than one Fire spell to kill them, fortunately. She wasn't able to ride Flora through the low-ceilinged tunnels, but the chocobo stuck comfortingly close to her as they made their way through. The monsters were easy enough to deal with, but it was still creepy. After one particular wrong turn that ended in a dead end, she found a small chest that held a couple potions and an ether.

"Not bad, hey, Flora?" she said cheerfully, holding up her loot to show the chocobo. "Maybe we've got adventurer blood in us after all." She changed her mind after being cornered by two dragon-like creatures and getting blasted by a sheet of flame. Flora had bravely occupied one of them while Aerith chugged a potion and took out the other dragon. "Maybe I'll stick with the doctor idea instead," she muttered as she checked Flora over for injuries. That seemed a lot more appealing than getting set on fire.

It was nearly dark by the time she reached the other side of the mine; there was a tower in the distance that Tseng had said had been taken over by anti-Shin-Ra rebels. No one had gotten around to dealing with the minor fort by the time Tseng had left them; hopefully that was still the case. She really hoped that they'd be willing to put her up for the night; sleeping on the ground again didn't appeal, despite having a warm chocobo to snuggle up to. At least in the mines she had been able to barricade herself in a room. Out here, there was nothing to protect them from wandering monsters. She swung up onto Flora's back and headed for the tower, hoping for the best, and planning for the worst.

***

Aerith ran her fingers through Flora's crest soothingly; apparently she wasn't too fond of water. She couldn't really blame her—this boat had definitely seen better days, if the constant sputtering of the engine was anything to go by.

"So what's a girl like you needing to go out to some abandoned island for?" the scruffy old man steering the boat asked.

"I'm looking for something," Aerith replied. Truth be told, she still had no clue what she was supposed to be doing, but after seeing the map at Fort Condor, she knew it would be on the island they were headed for.

"Humph, seems awfully vague to me. You should come back to the fort when you've found it. We could use someone with your skills."

Aerith made a sputtering sigh of a noise and rested her chin on her knees. Those people did need help; they were waging a war against Shin-Ra and they had no healers. "I would, but my friends are waiting for me. I think they're going to need me a lot more." She didn't know where they were going or what they were planning on doing, but they would need her. She just hoped that Tseng would be able to figure out where Hojo and Jenova were. All this not knowing was starting to get to her and she couldn't help but feel more than a little inadequate.

***

Sephiroth squinted at the mountains across from the marsh as they rode towards them. This wasn't a good day for it. The sun was too bright and... well, that was all he could think of, really, but that was enough. Besides, Cloud was still recovering. He pushed Cloud hard when they trained together, but he wasn't actively trying to kill him. This would be different.

"You don't have to do this today, you know. Or at all," he added in a quiet mutter.

"No, but today's as good a day as any. I'm ready." Cloud looked over at him and smiled confidently. "Don't worry."

"I know, it's just you're not going to have to fight anything like a Zolom, so—"

"You don't know that. You've got no clue what Hojo's cooking up in his vats. He's probably got things that are way worse than Zoloms, so I might as well start small." Cloud reined in his chocobo at the edge of the marsh and jumped down off its back, drawing his sword. "So you're going to let _me_ do this, okay?"

"Okay," Sephiroth grumbled and swung off Yellow.

"I mean it. No helping me unless I specifically say 'help me'. Or if I'm dead. You can help then. But _dead_ dead, not just knocked down or something."

"How about unconscious? I'd rather help you before you actually _die_. Because that's rather irreversible. You've got your materia equipped, right?"

"Yes, Mother."

Sephiroth sighed loud enough for Cloud to hear and held out a ring to him. "Here." The ring appeared to be bronze, though it reflected the light oddly and it had large red flames surrounding a tiny piece of materia as a decoration.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, studying the ring closely.

"A fire ring. Zoloms use an attack called Beta, which is basically setting you and everything around you on fire. The ring will nullify that."

"Isn't that cheating? I want to beat it on my own, not because I had a ring."

"Wear it," Sephiroth ordered. He wasn't going to let Cloud get turned into a crisp because of some arbitrary rules he had made up. "A large part of being a good fighter is using whatever you have in order to win. Never let yourself take unnecessary damage."

"And you just happened to have this lying around?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "I've got a lot of things I picked up over the years. Never know when they might come in handy, so I bring them with me on most missions. A ring doesn't take up much space. Wear it."

Cloud made a face, but tried the ring on until it fit on his right middle finger.

"Zoloms will try to knock you away from them if you start doing a lot of damage to them, so be prepared for that. The tail will swing to one side an—"

"I _know_ , Sephiroth. We've gone over it all. I promise not to die, okay?"

"Okay." Sephiroth took a deep breath and tried to convince himself that Cloud would be all right. He was just being overprotective, as usual. He needed to stop that. It was time for Cloud to get back some more of the confidence he had lost in Nibelheim. But nothing was going to stop him from helping if it looked like the fight was going badly. "Good luck."

"Don't need your luck!" Cloud stood on his tiptoes and gave Sephiroth a quick peck. "You stay right here and watch the chocobos."

He watched Cloud jog over to the edge of the marsh. Cloud checked over his equipment, settled his sword in his hand, and stepped forward. Sephiroth clutched at Yellow's feathers as Cloud walked further into danger, making a conscious effort to remember to breathe. Cloud would be fine. He was strong, and he was capable. Zoloms were ants in Cloud's path.

He couldn't see it, but he could feel it coming. The subtle trembling of the ground gave it away. Could Cloud feel it? He wasn't sure—it may have been honed battle instincts, or it may have been something anyone could do, but he didn't want Cloud caught by surprise. He had to clamp his hand over his mouth to keep from calling out a warning. "He knows," he whispered to Yellow. "He's ready."

Cloud had taken up a defensive stance and was facing the direction the Zolom was coming from. He was too tense, though. He needed to relax a bit so he could react more easily when it appeared.

"Relax your muscles!" Sephiroth yelled, unable to keep quiet.

"Shut it!" Cloud yelled back.

At that moment, a great serpent's head burst from the ground and all thoughts regarding the state of Cloud's muscles fled Sephiroth's brain as Cloud sprang into action.

***

Cloud spat out a mouthful of marsh and readied himself as the Zolom reared back to prepare for another attack. He kept a careful eye on the snapping movements of its tail. It had tried to fling him away twice now—that had to mean he was doing well, though from the look of it, he had barely made a scratch on the giant snake.

The Zolom didn't move to strike, however, and Cloud was at a loss. He watched its head swaying above him and wondered what it could be doing. A second's glance at Sephiroth showed that he looked about the same—on the verge of panicking, but no more so than he had been earlier. The flames that erupted around him moments later and blocked out the sky served as a clue.

His first instinct was to panic. He wanted to run, but the flames licking at his skin didn't hurt, despite the heat he felt and the way the plants around him withered and charred. It wasn't cheating, he decided, to avoid something like that if at all possible. Ring or no, however, he was getting tired. The Zolom struck at him again immediately after the flames had died out and let out an indescribable noise when Cloud's sword cut deeply into its neck. Its tail swept at him as he was recovering his balance and he barely jumped in time. When he saw the tail coming towards him a second time, Cloud gave up on attacking its head and ran forward. It couldn't use that attack if he kept close to its body.

The ground squelched under his feet as he closed the distance between them and prepared to strike. The Zolom was backing up, but he was faster. Cloud struck, channelling all his remaining energy into four blows that fell rapidly and bit deep into the monster's flesh. The cuts he left on its body seemed to glow a pale yellow for a fraction of a second before fading. With one final swing, he saw the tense muscles of its body slacken and heard a final, ear-piercing scream.

The sound of it was still ringing through his ears while he stared dazedly up at the snake that seemed to be growing larger as it fell. His sword-arm was trembling and it felt like his knees would give out at any moment. "I killed it..." he murmured.

When the ground disappeared out from under him, he nearly lost his grip on his sword and panicked for half a moment before he realized that he had been picked up and was moving away from the Zolom. Seconds later, he was dropped unceremoniously on the hard ground outside the marsh.

"Ow." Cloud shook his head to clear it.

"All that trouble you went to to kill it and you thought you'd just let it fall on you?" Sephiroth's eyes flashed bright green in the sunlight, and Cloud could see a vein pulsing in his neck.

"I was going to move..." he began lamely.

Sephiroth stared at him for what seemed like an overly long time before raising his hand to his face and turning away with his shoulders shaking.

"Are you laughing at me?"

There was a loud snort and Sephiroth dropped his hand and burst into full-fledged laughter. "You were just staring at it! As it was falling towards you! What the hell were you thinking?"

Cloud felt his face flush; it hadn't seemed like that long. "I was—I mean—If you're mad at me, why are you laughing?"

Sephiroth turned back to him, dropped to his knees, and hugged him, still laughing. "I'm not mad at you, Cloud. I'm relieved and trying to recover from the scariest minutes of my life. And I'm very, very proud. You fought wonderfully. I'm also very confused about why you didn't move out of the way."

"It didn't seem like it was going to hit me anytime soon, and my muscles didn't seem to want to move. Did it really almost land on me?"

Sephiroth sat back on his knees and looked at him. "Yes, it really did, though I can't blame your muscles for not wanting to move. I've rarely seen anyone move as fast as you did for those last strikes. Do you know what you did?"

Cloud shook his head. "I just... I dunno. It felt strange. Thanks for hauling me out of the way."

Sephiroth gave a shake of his head and laughed again. "Come on." He held out his hand. "Let's go back to the ranch. You look like you need some food."


End file.
